Guidelines for the Management of Rights to and Registration of AI-Generated Music

Anyone who creates works of music or lyrics can become a member of TONO and register their songs/musical works with us. As a creator, you are free to use all legal tools in your creative process, including tools that employ artificial intelligence (AI).

Below, we have outlined TONO’s guidelines for registering music and lyrics created with artificial intelligence in the creative process.

100% AI-Generated Music Cannot Be Registered

If a musical work consists entirely of AI-generated material, it cannot be registered with TONO.

To gain rights to a musical work, you must have contributed a creative, human input. The Norwegian Copyright Act (Åndsverkloven) defines copyright as the exclusive right of an author to their creations. Copyright arises automatically when a work is created and requires no form of registration to be protected. Copyright protects you and works created through your individual and original human creativity.

Registering a work with TONO means that you authorize TONO to manage the economic rights to the work you have created. The information you provide during registration forms the basis for the financial distribution of TONO’s revenue. It is therefore essential that you provide accurate and precise information when registering works, and that you follow the guidelines outlined in this document when registering works that involve artificial intelligence in the creative process.

Musical Works Created Using AI Tools May Be Registered

As a TONO member, you can register all music and lyrics you create. The use of artificial intelligence as a tool does not affect this right. You are free to use AI as a tool in collaboration with your own human creativity.

You should register the work with TONO in the usual way and do not need to specify which tools were used.

When Either Music or Lyrics Are 100% AI-Generated

In cases where a work consists of both lyrics and music, and one of these is entirely AI-generated, you will not receive rights to that part of the work.

To obtain copyright in a musical work, you must contribute a creative, human input. Copyright arises automatically when a work is created and requires no form of registration. The right protects you and works created through your human creativity.

If either the lyrics or composition are 100% AI-generated, this part will not meet the requirements of human creative input. You can still register the work, but you will only receive rights and shares in the part you created.

A guide for registering such works in “My TONO” follows below.

Distinguishing Between AI-Assisted and AI-Generated

If you contribute human creative input that influences the final result, it is TONO’s position that artificial intelligence is used merely as a tool.

Be aware that you have no guarantee that an AI service will not generate the same or a very similar melody or lyric for others as well. If, in your creative process, you use or are inspired by AI-generated text or music, you are on safer ground the more you alter what the AI tool helped you with.

International Practice and Principles

In consultation with TONO’s sister societies in Denmark (Koda), Finland (Teosto), Sweden (Stim), and Iceland (Stef), we have formulated principles for the management of AI-generated works. TONO’s guidelines for registration and management are based on these principles.

How to Register Works in Which Either Lyrics or Composition Are 100% AI-Generated

When registering a work in which either the lyrics or composition is 100% AI-generated, you must register AI as the rights holder in the relevant role—either lyricist or composer—under the “Rights Holders and Share Distribution” tab.

The AI-generated component in the work is to be registered with the IPI number 1246878315 (“TONO AI”). This IPI number has been created to facilitate the registration of AI-generated components in works.

Select the role AI has in your work by choosing either Lyricist or Composer from the dropdown menu. Then enter 1246878315 in the IPI number field; “TONO AI” will appear automatically.

For the part of the work that is not AI-generated, you should register yourself and any other rights holders as usual.

The AI-generated part of the work, i.e., the shares registered under IPI “TONO AI,” can only be fully AI-generated or not AI-generated at all. In other words, if you register TONO AI as a rights holder with the role of lyricist or composer, it must stand alone in that role.

If you have only used parts of, or been inspired by, AI-generated music or lyrics, you should fully claim the role of composer or lyricist. No AI share should be assigned to the work.

Refer to more information on “music created using AI tools” above.

Note!

Please be aware of individual AI services’ terms of use. These may impose guidelines or limitations on what constitutes permissible use and what rights you have to music or lyrics created using the service. As a creator, you are responsible for works you register in My TONO. By registering, you declare that the work is your own. TONO reserves the right to reject works that do not follow our guidelines.

Also note that some AI companies are not transparent about the music and data used to train their services and models. In such cases, you as a user risk infringing both your own and others’ copyrights without being aware of it.

TONO and our sister societies abroad are working internationally to require AI companies to meet legal transparency requirements regarding the music used to train their models and to secure payment for our members. It is your responsibility to understand the details of the AI tools you use.