Key Changes: An AI landmark, more deepfakes, and MTV changes in this week’s music news

Both on a global scale and right here in our backyard, the music industry is evolving at a dizzying pace. And I’m here to help you make sense of the “Key Changes” in this quick-hit music news roundup.

Several weeks back I brought you an interview with an expert in intellectual property and AI. The prediction was that major record labels will soon be making deals with AI companies to share in the spoils, and creators are likely to get left out.

Well, a landmark deal was announced this week. A new AI outfit called Eleven Music has arranged to share profits with two companies with Nashville ties: Kobalt, a large independent publisher, and Merlin, a licensing org that represents a host of independent labels. The rights holders involved can choose whether to let their work be used to train the AI model, and be compensated for it. That might turn out to be a more equitable scenario for creators than some others in the works.

But even for deceased artists, the danger of deepfakes still remains.

AI-generated, supposedly posthumous releases from venerated country and folk singer-songwriters Blaze Foley and Guy Clark have recently made it onto streaming sites. They were removed only after their legitimacy was questioned. 

This week brought a subtle, but significant shift in the awards landscape too, when MTV announced new categories and nominees for its Video Music Awards.

In the past, the VMAs have squarely focused on pop, but the awards are now expanding into … country. That’s yet another sign of the broader entertainment industry seeking a piece of the booming country music market.