Record company Hallwood Media has signed a deal with lyricist Telisha “Nikki” Jones, the human creator behind the popular AI-generated R&B artist Xania Monet. Elissa Welle reports for The Verge that the deal highlights significant legal uncertainties surrounding AI and copyright. Xania Monet has over a million listens on Spotify, but her likeness, vocals, and music are generated by artificial intelligence. Jones’s only human contribution appears to be the lyrics.
According to multiple copyright experts, US law generally does not grant copyright protection to works created entirely by AI. Protection may only extend to human-made expressive elements, which in this case would be Jones’s lyrics. This raises questions about what Hallwood Media has actually acquired. The company may not be able to enforce a copyright claim if the music is used by others without permission.
The situation is further complicated by the tool Jones used. The music was created with Suno, an AI music generator currently being sued by major record labels over alleged copyright infringement in its training data.
According to the US Copyright Office, only human authorship can be protected. The office has stated that simply prompting an AI system is not enough to be considered an author. Legal experts describe the current era as one of “unsettled” law, where technology is developing faster than legal frameworks can adapt.