BPI Report Outlines AI Licensing Recommendations
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) published its ‘Driving UK Growth: The role of licensing music in the age of AI’ report this morning. The report details the organization’s policy positions concerning artificial intelligence and the licensing of copyrighted musical works.
The central argument presented is a request that the government support and accelerate copyright licensing between rights holders and AI companies, rather than permitting the use of copyrighted material for AI training without licensing agreements. The report, commissioned from WPI Economics, asserts the importance of maintaining the existing copyright framework.
As of 2026, rightsholders across creative industries have established 274 commercial licensing agreements with AI companies. Specifically within the music sector, 26 key deals have been completed with Suno, Udio, Klay Vision, Stability AI, Nvidia, ElevenLabs, Spotify, Vermillio, Sound Patrol, Songfox, Sureel, Musical AI, Prorata.ai, Soundlabs, Meta, TikTok, BandLab, Google and Splice. These agreements have largely been negotiated by the three major labels, Merlin, and collecting societies.
A BPI survey of its independent-label members revealed that 16% are currently exploring licensing partnerships, while 77% expressed openness to licensing their music for ethical AI applications. 97% of surveyed companies believe the current copyright framework is suitable for licensing AI systems and essential for their operations.
The report criticizes the lack of transparency surrounding AI training data, stating this opacity hinders licensing discussions. It recommends the government maintain the existing copyright regime, mandate transparency from AI companies regarding their training data inputs, and apply these requirements to all AI models deployed within the UK, regardless of where the models were initially trained.
The report also highlights the economic contribution of the UK music industry, valued at £8 billion in 2024, including £4.8 billion in exports, and supporting 220,000 jobs.
Consumer research included in the study indicated that 77% of respondents believe rightsholders and artists should be compensated when their work is used by AI to create new content, and the same percentage believe artists’ music or vocals should not be used without permission.
“This research demonstrates that there is a viable path to making the UK a global hub for ethical AI-music licensing. Music labels are pioneering licensing deals with ethical AI companies with multiple deals already struck and many more conversations underway,” stated Sophie Jones, the BPI’s chief strategy officer. “For this market to scale successfully, the Government must support it through a firm commitment to upholding existing copyright laws and mandating record keeping and disclosure.”
