In recent months, a number of tools that allow the creation or modification of music using artificial intelligence have appeared on the market, e.g. Loudly, SongR, Soundraw, MusicGen and Suno. Some of them, such as Suno, allow to generate a song with lyrics with just a few prompts, as well as modify songs entered into the tool as so-called "input." Users of the platform are eager to use new technologies to develop their creativity and give their ideas a concrete form.
How can a song made with AI be used? And can it be filed with a collective management organization (such as the Polish Society of Authors and Composers - ZAiKS)? In this article we will answer these questions based on the principles of Suno* and the practice of ZAiKS.
Suno - basic information
Suno (https://suno.com/) is an online platform where users can create music, and customize existing or Suno-created songs by choosing instruments, arrangements and applying sound effects. Among other things, it allows users to develop their composing skills and give an existing song a new sound. The platform uses artificial intelligence in the form of a neural network that is trained on data from huge and constantly updated collections of songs.
How can Suno be used and what are the consequences?
The user can choose from three plans offered by Suno - a free basic plan and paid Pro or Premier plans (which differ in the number of songs that can be generated per month). The chosen plan affects the ownership of the created song and the possible uses for it.
Regardless of the chosen plan, the user can interact with Suno in a number of ways - from entering a prompt to using AI only as a technical tool for simple reworking of human creativity. The range of activities over which the user has control in the process of creating a song using Suno affects the possibility of granting copyright protection to the result of the work.
Ownership of the song created in Suno
According to Suno's terms and conditions, every song generated on the platform has its owner. Who it will be depends on the plan. As a rule, songs created under the free version of the tool belong to Suno, and those created under the Pro or Premium plan belong to the user. Ownership of the songs created under paid plans does not expire after cancellation of the subscription.
Copyright to the song created in Suno
Only a song that is (largely) made by a human can qualify as a work under copyright law.
How to determine when this requirement is met? Suno does not give answer to this question.
So it's worth referring to the guidelines that the U.S. Copyright Office put forth in a recent report on copyright and generative artificial intelligence (genAI)**. It reads that in order to assess whether we are dealing with a work, it is necessary to determine over what part of the creative process the human being exercised actual control. Such an assessment must be made on a case-by-case basis for each work result.
Using songs created in Suno
The range of actions a Suno user can take with respect to a song depends on the plan he or she uses.
For the free version of the tool, the user can:
- listen to the song on Suno,
- download a song to listen to on any device,
- share the link or downloaded file with friends,
- use the song on other non-monetizing platforms.
The described scope of activities corresponds to permitted personal use.
On the other hand, a user using a paid plan (Pro or Premium), who owns the created song, can:
- distribute the song, for example on Spotify,
- share the song on YouTube, for example as a background to a video,
- transfer the rights to the song (if it constitutes a work within the meaning of copyright law),
- grant permission to synchronize the song with a movie or computer game etc.
This means that a user using the Pro or Premium version of Suno can make money from the song.
When sharing a song, the user should keep in mind that the regulations of some services (e.g., TikTok) mandate that AI-generated content be marked with a special label. A similar obligation has been introduced on YouTube - users should label a video as "altered or synthesized content" if the result of the use of AI is realistic and therefore viewers could get the impression that the video or song was created solely by a human.
Registration of a work created using Suno with ZAiKS
If a song created using Suno meets the criteria for copyright protection, the user can register it with ZAiKS. In the application, he or she should indicate AI as a "co-author" of the song and specify the percentage of its contribution to the creation of the song. The decision as to the specific percentage is entirely up to the Suno user and he or she alone is responsible for it.
In such a case, ZAiKS will collect money from those using the work only for the portion corresponding to the user's share, and then pay the user proportional royalties. The portion of the work attributed to AI is treated like a public domain work - ZAiKS does not collect money or pay royalties with respect to it.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
