AFM Demands Fair Pay and Musician Consent in Major Label AI Licensing Deals

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has launched a new campaign titled "Human Made Human Paid", demanding mandatory consent, credit, and compensation whenever recorded music is used to train artificial intelligence models.

The initiative comes amid stalled negotiations between the union and major record labels over a new Sound Recording Labor Agreement. AFM argues that while major labels secure lucrative corporate licensing agreements with AI companies, session musicians and performers receive no share of that revenue. The union is seeking contractual safeguards, including the explicit right for musicians to refuse AI training uses and guaranteed compensation when recordings generate value in AI systems.

AFM has already filed lawsuits against Universal Music and Warner Music, disputing the application of existing "new use" payment clauses to AI licensing. The dispute underscores a growing industry-wide challenge: as catalog licensing for AI expands, artists, session players, and rightsholders face mounting pressure to establish transparent revenue-sharing models and clear contractual rights.