08/28/2026
A letter I had to write to a perspective client. I am going to do another Music Business Minute addressing AI and the USC Title 17 and 18.
Martin,
It is a pleasure speaking with you again. We have professional studios and a registered record label within our company. We do understand the cost of creating demos in the studio with professional musicians on the payroll. Even though Suno states you own the composition. The fact they fail to mention is, under US Copyright laws ("USC Title 17"), the composition is ineligible for a US copyright with the Library of Congress. Here are their guidelines:
The Human Authorship Rule
No AI Ownership: The U.S. Copyright Office and federal courts state that copyright requires a human creator. Works created entirely by artificial intelligence go directly into the public domain.
Prompts Are Not Enough: Simply writing a text prompt to generate a musical composition or lyrics does not count as meaningful human creative input.
Master vs. Composition: Even if an AI music platform grants you ownership of a generated audio file (the master recording), you do not own the underlying musical composition if it was fully AI-generated.
AI-Assisted Music Production
Human Contributions: You can claim copyright for parts of a song you create yourself, such as writing original lyrics, recording vocals, playing a live instrument, or adding a custom MIDI melody.
Registration Rules: When registering a hybrid work, you must disclose and disclaim the AI-generated portions, protecting only your original human contributions.
If you fail to disclose that a song contains an appreciable amount of AI-generated content when applying for copyright registration, you face cancellation of your copyright, loss of your ability to sue for infringement, and potential legal vulnerability for fraud. The U.S. Copyright Office relies on a duty of candor. Intentionally or carelessly leaving out AI details triggers several severe consequences:
1. Cancellation of the Registration
If the U.S. Copyright Office discovers that you hid the use of AI in your song, they can cancel your copyright certificate entirely. Because the registration becomes void, you lose the federal legal protections you thought you had.
2. Loss of the Right to Sue Infringers
In the United States, you must have a valid copyright registration before you can file a lawsuit against someone for stealing your music. If you sue a platform or another artist for infringement, the defense attorney will audit your track. If they prove you hid AI generation on your registration application:
3. Criminal Penalties for Fraud (Rare but Possible)
Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1001 and 17 U.S.C. § 506(e)), knowingly making a false representation of a material fact in an application for copyright registration is a federal crime. If proven that you willfully defrauded the government to claim human authorship over AI music, it carries a fine of up to $2,500.
Recording, Video, Producer, Mixing, Mastering, Booking, Video Editing, Video Metafiles, Audio Metafiles, Booking Agency, Music Business Consultation, Artist Management, Music Publishing, Song Plugging, Rehearsal Space, Grand Piano, Christian Record Label, Record Promotions
