Korea Music Performers Association Becomes Korea's Sole Member of International 'Human Artistry' AI Coalition

"The Rightful Recipient of Compensation Must Be the Human Artist"

Provided by Eumshillyeon

The Korea Music Performers Association announced on January 22 that it has joined the international coalition 'Human Artistry Campaign,' becoming the only organization in Korea to do so, with the aim of protecting the rights and interests of creators and performers in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

The Human Artistry Campaign was launched in 2023 at South by Southwest (SXSW), the world's largest music festival, by Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammy Awards. The campaign aims to ensure that AI technology supports and enhances human creativity. Currently, 189 arts organizations worldwide from fields such as music, audiovisual arts, and publishing are participating.

The campaign has set forth core priorities to ensure that AI does not infringe upon human artistic expression, including: limiting copyright protection for AI-generated works created solely by AI; establishing the principle that the rights of human creators take precedence; and preventing rights violations through deepfakes.

Harvey Mason Jr. was involved in the enactment of the 'Elvis Act,' which passed in Tennessee, United States, and led efforts to draft legislation to protect artists' likenesses, voices, and images. Over 400 industry figures, including global top stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett, have issued statements in support of this law.

The Korea Music Performers Association plans to accelerate the advancement of relevant technologies and systems through its participation in the campaign. Through ongoing national research and development (R&D) projects, the association is developing technology to automatically detect unauthorized deepfake performances and is establishing a fair compensation system for performers' rights.

Kim Seungmin, Executive Director of the Korea Music Performers Association, stated, "The key is not to exclude AI, but to clearly distinguish the scope of technology use and the rights of performers," emphasizing, "AI should be a tool that assists creation and performance, but the artist must remain the rightful recipient of compensation."

Since its establishment in 1988, the Korea Music Performers Association has been the only music performers' copyright trust management organization in Korea authorized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, collecting and distributing neighboring rights royalties for performers across all genres, including popular music, traditional Korean music, and classical music.