"Evolution of radio"? First private radio stations play AI-generated songs

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Private radio stations such as Radio Frankfurt, Antenne Koblenz, or 95.9 Charivari regularly play AI-generated music at night. This is according to statements from the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM) and The Radio Group.

The Radio Group's broadcast stations would play the “AI Music Night” from one to four in the morning, explains the managing director of the media group, Tim Lauth, to heise. The Radio Group operates nineteen private radio stations across Germany, including well-known city stations like Radio Frankfurt, Radio Cottbus, Antenne Kaiserslautern, etc. According to Lauth, the fact that their nighttime radio programming is based on AI-generated music is made transparent by program elements at the beginning and between songs. However, the managing director of the media group reiterated that they do not intend to expand the proportion of AI-generated music to the daytime program.

The Bavarian radio station 95.5 Charivari is also now building its nighttime program on AI-generated music. This is evident from a program announcement by the station, which the president of the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM), Dr. Thorsten Schmiege, mentioned in a statement to heise. According to this, 95.5 Charivari also exclusively plays AI-generated music titles from one to four in the morning. Schmiege says that here too, this is made transparent by corresponding jingles every hour of broadcasting. So far, the use of AI-generated music in the industry has at best been discussed for fringe times.

“Logical next step in the evolution of radio”

Tim Lauth, managing director of The Radio Group, welcomes the advent of AI music in radio. “We see the use of AI-generated content as a logical next step in the evolution of radio,” he writes in his statement. Primarily, the entertainment value is at the forefront, which has also been positively received by listeners so far.

BLM President Schmiege's statement makes it clear that radio stations are not only concerned with entertainment value when it comes to AI music. Schmiege mentions that no fees are incurred for AI-generated music titles from the Society for Musical Performance and Mechanical Reproduction Rights (GEMA).

Radio stations are generally required to pay a portion of their broadcast-related revenue to GEMA. This applies to revenue from advertising, sponsorships, product placements, etc. The higher the proportion of music from the GEMA repertoire in the program, the higher the remuneration rate that must be paid to GEMA.

If radio stations play three hours of royalty-free, AI-generated songs at night, their program share of music from the GEMA repertoire decreases – and thus also the remuneration rate to be paid.

GEMA sees “big problem”

GEMA views the opening of some radio programs to AI music with concern. While AI-generated music is not protected by copyright according to the prevailing opinion of legal experts, the music created using AI may infringe the rights of the creators of works used to train the AI. This is what GEMA writes in a statement to heise.

“These works were used to train AI systems without the permission, let alone remuneration, of the rights holders,” explains the collecting society. Furthermore, objections filed by artists against the use of their songs by AI operating companies were disregarded.

AI-generated content is increasingly competing with human-created works. “An appropriate balance of interests must be ensured here so that creative work is also secured in the future,” writes GEMA.

BLM holds AI providers responsible

At the end of last year, the Munich Regional Court confirmed in a ruling against OpenAI that the storage of song lyrics for the purpose of AI training constitutes unauthorized reproduction and infringes copyright. BLM President Schmiege also refers to this ruling in his statement. The responsibility for possible legal violations through AI-generated music remains with the AI provider, says Schmiege.

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