FAQs

What is AUTODIA’s position on Artificial Intelligence in the music industry?

AUTODIA acknowledges the new opportunities and possibilities that Artificial Intelligence offers in the creation of a musical work, provided that its use complies with European regulations.

However, it underlines the dangers that lurk from its unregulated and reckless use—an issue that concerns the international community and raises anxiety over the future and livelihood of creators. AUTODIA recognizes the imperative need to strengthen and update legal frameworks, with absolute respect for creators' royalties, while simultaneously emphasizing the grave risk faced by global cultural heritage.

What applies to AUTODIA’s opt-out declaration?

The law stipulates that AI service providers may use protected works for the training of their models within the framework of data mining activities, provided that they have acquired access to them lawfully and that the creator has not exercised the right of objection (opt-out).

Since December 2023, AUTODIA has recognized the exercise of the opt-out right, explicitly declaring that it restricts, excludes, and does not permit the reproduction and extraction of works from its represented repertoire for the purpose of data mining, provided that the royalties holders have exercised their opt-out right. This policy complies with Article 21B of Law 2121/1993, which transposes Article 4 of Directive 2019/790.

Under what conditions can AI providers use protected works?

AI providers who use the works of AUTODIA’s members must obtain prior licensing from the Greek Organization and explicitly negotiate the terms, in order to ensure that royalties holders are compensated fairly and appropriately

Creators / royalties holders must be part of the value chain being created, taking into account the significant profits that AI providers obtain from the use and exploitation of musical works.

What applies to entirely AI-generated works, and how do they differ from human works created using AI tools (AI-assisted works)?

Under copyright law, only content created by a human generates royalties and receives legal protection. An AI tool cannot be recognized as a creator, nor even as a co-creator, of a protected work.

Consequently, content—such as music or song lyrics—that has been entirely (100%) produced by AI tools (AI-generated) without any human creative contribution is not protected.

Conversely, when a creator uses AI as a supportive tool (AI-assisted), combining it with sufficient personal creative contribution and originality of concept to create a musical composition (and/or lyrics), the resulting output is considered a protected musical work.

Who is responsible for declaring works created using Artificial Intelligence?

It is important to emphasize that each creator who declares their works to AUTODIA bears the exclusive responsibility for the correctness and accuracy of that declaration.

Although AUTODIA accepts the management of works created with the assistance of AI models (AI-assisted works)—and not works entirely generated by AI models (AI-generated works)—it is the sole responsibility of the assigning royalties holder to determine whether a work is AI-assisted and to declare it as such (composition and/or lyrics).

AUTODIA explicitly reserves the right to refuse the management of works if they are entirely created by AI tools.

The creator will not receive any remuneration for the part of the work—the music and/or the lyrics—that has been entirely produced by AI tools.

Are there any basic precautionary measures to take when using AI tools?

AUTODIA, as the Organization to which you have entrusted the exclusive rights to your works, recommends taking the following necessary steps when utilizing AI tools:

Carefully read the terms of use of the AI tools you choose each time. The terms of use for some of these tools may lead you to infringe upon the royalties of third parties without realizing it, resulting in the unauthorized use of a pre-existing work on your part.

Also keep in mind that certain AI tools include terms through which they may even claim ownership of a musical work resulting from the prompts you select during your interaction with the service in question.

Always maintain the creation log (log files, etc.) that contains the processing history of your musical work created with the assistance of AI, so that you can provide it to AUTODIA in the event that the validity of your work's declaration is disputed.

If you have any doubt as to whether you have created a work using AI tools that is not protected, consult with specialized professionals (lawyers, musicologists, etc.). This is a completely new technology that is evolving rapidly, and the implications of its integration into the modern music ecosystem are still being investigated and documented.

How should I register musical works created with AI (Artificial Intelligence)?

1. Content (such as music or lyrics) that has been entirely (100%) generated by AI tools, with no human creative contribution, is not protected by copyright.

2. If the music or lyrics are 100% AI-generated, you must enter "AI" in the co-creators column of the Repertoire Statement, along with the corresponding role (C/A – Composer and/or Author/Lyricist).

3. If the music and/or lyrics were created using AI-assisted tools* where there is active human creative contribution, they can be registered normally with our Organization and are fully protected.

*For more details, please read the AI Guide available on the AUTODIA website.

Am I legally covered if I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) music services in my store?

We recommend that you be particularly careful when using music services claiming to be the product of Artificial Intelligence (AI) because music produced by AI systems is not always copyright-free.

In particular, we inform you that the use of music produced entirely by an AI system in professional spaces (commerce, catering, hospitality, etc.):

1. Does not exempt the user from paying royalties to the CMO, if there is also another source of listening to music in his store, such as conventional or web radio, television or other online music streaming services (e.g. Spotify).

2. Does not exempt the user from paying royalties to the CMO of creators, if protected works have been used for this music, parts of which are recognized in the output of the AI system. This issue has already been decided by courts in member states of the European Union.

3. Does not exempt the user from paying related rights to the collecting societies of musicians/performers/producers, because the law provides for mandatory collective management for related rights, which are not dependent on the protection of copyrighted works.

4. It does not exempt the user from paying royalties to the collecting societies, if the work used has not been produced entirely by an AI system. Even if it has been produced entirely by an AI system, the courts are the only ones competent to judge whether the music produced by the system is legal.

According to the relevant Greek legislation, the burden of proof for the non-infringement of copyright and/or related rights lies with the user. Otherwise, use of represented repertoire is presumed.

Therefore, the use of AI music creates legal uncertainty, does not exempt from paying royalties to CMO except under specific conditions, and therefore its use is not recommended.