On Wednesday, September 18, BMI hosted BMAC (Black Music Action Coalition) at its LA office for a conversation about the opportunities and challenges that AI presents to the creative community. Moderated by Prophet (President & CEO, BMAC) and Shay Lawson (Head of Policy, BMAC and Founder & Managing Attorney, Lawson McKinley), the panel featured music and AI industry leaders including Harvey Mason, Jr. (CEO, The Recording Academy), Michael Collins (VP, Government Relation, BMI),Kathleen Grace (CCO, Vermillio) and Dina LaPolt (Founder & Owner, LaPolt Law/Co-Founder & Board Member, SONA). BMI’s President & CEO, Mike O’Neill, welcomed the esteemed guests before handing over the mic to co-moderators Prophet and Lawson, who led a thought-provoking discussion, with the panel consensus supporting the ethical use of AI, agreeing that the industry needs to work together to mitigate any negative impact that AI has on the human creative community whose work made these innovations possible. Panelists also emphasized that while AI is a powerful tool, the irreplaceable value of human experience and connection remains paramount and will ultimately prevail in the creative landscape.
Some of the evening’s guests included BMI rapper/songwriter Flavor Flav, and many from BMAC’s leadership board including Kevin Shivers (Partner, WME), Cortez Bryant (Co-CEO Blueprint Group), Max Gousse (Artistry Group and Def Jam), Marcus Hunter (UCLA professor behind the Black Lives Matter movement), Erin McAnnally (SONA) and Dr. Menna Demessie (SVP, UMG and Executive Director, Taskforce for Meaningful Change), to name a few.
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Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.