CAPASSO backs global principles for fair generative AI music licensing

The principles, outlined in a joint statement issued by IMPEL and IMPF on 30 September 2026, address the valuation, licensing, attribution and remuneration of musical works used to train and operate generative AI models.

CAPASSO, which represents composers, authors and publishers, said AI developers should properly account for the value of the underlying musical composition, including melodies, lyrics and other elements protected by copyright.

The organisation highlighted five principles from the joint statement. These include ensuring that compositions are valued at least equally with sound recordings in AI training and exploitation, where no other relevant factors justify a different valuation.

The principles also call for transparency throughout the licensing process, including information about what is being licensed, how works are used, attribution, deductions and the calculation and distribution of revenues.

They further distinguish between payments for AI training, past unlicensed use, generated outputs and future commercial exploitation. Licences should also clearly define their scope so that limited pilots or closed testing environments do not automatically lead to wider uses.

The organisations are also calling for tracking and attribution systems that allow rights holders to identify the use of their works and receive appropriate downstream royalties from AI-generated music.

“Generative AI represents a transformative frontier for the global music economy, but innovation must never come at the expense of creators,” CAPASSO CEO Jotam Matariro said. “For too long, digital revenue models undervalued the underlying song in favour of master recordings. We cannot allow generative AI to replicate that historical imbalance.

“At CAPASSO, we fully align and endorse what the IMPEL and IMPF [are] asserting in that the song must be valued equally with the recording in AI training and output models. African music creators are at the centre of global pop culture today, and their intellectual property must be recognised, protected and properly remunerated in every AI licensing agreement going forward.”

CAPASSO is also calling for changes to South Africa’s copyright and regulatory framework to address the use of protected music by AI systems.

Among its proposals are explicit copyright safeguards covering the use of musical works for AI training and restrictions on the use of copyrighted works without consent or a licence.

The organisation also wants existing fair dealing protections to be maintained, arguing against an expansion to a broader fair use framework that could allow commercial AI developers to use creative works for training without remuneration.

CAPASSO is calling for AI developers to maintain and disclose records of copyrighted works used to train their systems. It also supports the development of attribution and tracking technologies involving collective management organisations, rights holders and AI platforms.

The organisation further wants collective management organisations such as CAPASSO to be supported in negotiating multi-territorial and pan-African licensing agreements for AI use, with the aim of ensuring that creators receive remuneration for both training uses and subsequent commercial exploitation.

The statement comes as music rights organisations and publishers internationally seek clearer licensing frameworks for generative AI, particularly around the use of copyrighted music in the development of AI models and the allocation of revenue generated from AI-assisted music.