News South Korean Copyright Agency Ends Ban on AI-Assisted Music, Launches Framework For Registration, Royalties (1 Viewer)

[centen]

Source: https://www.billboard.com/pro/south-korea-copyright-agency-ends-ban-ai-assisted-music/?

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the global music ecosystem, South Korea has taken a decisive step toward defining where human artistry ends and machine generation begins. The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA), the nation’s largest music copyright collective, has officially implemented South Korea’s first formal framework governing AI-assisted musical works.

First coming into effect on Aug. 3, this policy revision marks a major turning point: it recognizes AI within defined institutional boundaries while establishing strict safeguards for human creators, positioning KOMCA among the first music copyright organizations to establish a formal AI registration framework.

Under the new rules, musical compositions qualify for copyright registration only when a human creator plays a “substantial and leading role” in creative processes, such as writing lyrics, composing melodies, or arranging, using AI strictly as a supportive tool. This policy replaces an earlier rule in effect since March 2025 that disqualified works from registration or royalty collection if even minimal AI assistance was detected.

The shift follows a March 2026 audit by South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection. In a sample of 8,540 songs registered by 29 prominent writers, the agency found that 60.9% (roughly 5,200 tracks) were likely created with AI assistance, highlighting that a total ban had become unworkable in modern production workflows.

To enforce these standards without compromising integrity, KOMCA has instituted a multi-layered verification system:

• Detailed disclosure: When registering a work, creators must fully disclose and certify their use of AI, including the specific tools used and the precise scope of their application.
• Post-registration audits: If suspected non-compliance arises after registration, KOMCA reserves the right to request evidentiary proof, run technical verifications, and conduct internal reviews.
• Financial and contractual penalties: Registering an entirely AI-generated track as a human composition triggers immediate administrative action — including the withholding of royalties, clawbacks of unearned distributions, and potential termination of the creator’s trust agreement.
• Liquidated damages: KOMCA is amending its terms to allow penalty claims of up to three times the improperly collected royalties in cases of intentional fraud or gross negligence.

The policy reflects an objective repeatedly emphasized by KOMCA chairman Lee Si-ha: fostering coexistence between technological adoption and creator rights. “This revision is an initial step toward managing an evolving creative landscape within a formal institutional framework,” Lee Si-ha said. “We are building a trustworthy system to ensure that creators who put in honest sweat and labor are never disadvantaged.”

By moving from total prohibition to structured accountability, KOMCA has drawn a clear line for the industry: AI may assist the creative process, but legal protections and royalty distributions remain reserved for works driven by human creativity. Moving forward, the copyright collective will actively gather feedback from the K-pop industry and track AI tech trends to regularly refine its verification process.

 

[centen]

My initial reaction was "gross" but after reading the requirements, I think this is smart. They are requiring companies to clearly mark what is AI created, provide proof of authenticity, and face severe financial penalties if they misrepresent AI work as human-created.

I'm anti-AI for creative processes too, but knowing that it is a technology that exists, I would much rather be able to KNOW when a company is using it and how.

 

[Ahsoka]

This is a good step, particularly all the transparency requirements

 

[centen]

This is a good step, particularly all the transparency requirements

I agree. I think it will overall be a benefit to consumers, because of the tools used and how are required to be labeled and human involvement evidenced.

Different people have different lines on what they're willing to tolerate. I watched a video yesterday discussing the Hank Green controversy, and a couple of the panelists were originally "all AI is bad and it should never, ever be used in any sense ever," but then once they got asked to go through real scenarios, they started being like "well, actually, I think you shouldn't have to invent a whole new software just because Adobe put AI in their software, and you don't have a way to opt out of it being used," and one of them admitted she used AI to write the video transcripts so she didn't have to manually listen and type it out.

Now consumers can be informed about how AI is being used in a particular song, and can make decisions on if they still want to support that.

 

[Ahsoka]

I agree. I think it will overall be a benefit to consumers, because of the tools used and how are required to be labeled and human involvement evidenced.

Different people have different lines on what they're willing to tolerate. I watched a video yesterday discussing the Hank Green controversy, and a couple of the panelists were originally "all AI is bad and it should never, ever be used in any sense ever," but then once they got asked to go through real scenarios, they started being like "well, actually, I think you shouldn't have to invent a whole new software just because Adobe put AI in their software, and you don't have a way to opt out of it being used," and one of them admitted she used AI to write the video transcripts so she didn't have to manually listen and type it out.

Now consumers can be informed about how AI is being used in a particular song, and can make decisions on if they still want to support that.

There was a Hank Green controversy?

Yeah there’s always nuance to things like this, and plenty of people on all sides who don’t want to consider any nuance. In general though, it can be easier to control something by placing strict regulations on it rather than having outright bans. Of course there’s nuance to that too though, insane things like literal murder are obviously better off completely banned. So even the nuance has nuance.

 

[centen]

There was a Hank Green controversy?

Yeah there’s always nuance to things like this, and plenty of people on all sides who don’t want to consider any nuance. In general though, it can be easier to control something by placing strict regulations on it rather than having outright bans. Of course there’s nuance to that too though, insane things like literal murder are obviously better off completely banned. So even the nuance has nuance.

When the AI starts turning into our AI overlords, then maybe that is when it's definitely gone too far, banned completely!!

Hank Green controversy, with my biased thoughts on it lol: The short version is, he is an old, and used a phrase "I appreciate the pushback" which his young audience decided is AI. (I word it like that, because being in the corporate world my entire adult working life, that is a bog-standard professional phrase to respond to someone criticizing you.) So he addressed the conspiracy and said that he did not, in fact, use AI to come up with that phrase, but he went on to admit that he is using AI to more readily aggregate research papers and provide direction and also in his personal life, he maybe is enjoying using it too much. Which people then took as evidence that nothing the Green brothers write or do anymore was touched by an actual human being.

My personal opinion is that, it seemed like he wanted to be open and honest about the fact that he does use AI in some scenarios and not in others, and he forgot that literacy has gone to shit these days.

 

[Ahsoka]

When the AI starts turning into our AI overlords, then maybe that is when it's definitely gone too far, banned completely!!

Hank Green controversy, with my biased thoughts on it lol: The short version is, he is an old, and used a phrase "I appreciate the pushback" which his young audience decided is AI. (I word it like that, because being in the corporate world my entire adult working life, that is a bog-standard professional phrase to respond to someone criticizing you.) So he addressed the conspiracy and said that he did not, in fact, use AI to come up with that phrase, but he went on to admit that he is using AI to more readily aggregate research papers and provide direction and also in his personal life, he maybe is enjoying using it too much. Which people then took as evidence that nothing the Green brothers write or do anymore was touched by an actual human being.

My personal opinion is that, it seemed like he wanted to be open and honest about the fact that he does use AI in some scenarios and not in others, and he forgot that literacy has gone to shit these days.

“I appreciate the pushback” is such an incredibly normal phrase The internet really is something.

Actually I appreciate the pushback isn’t that normal online I guess, but that’s because having an open honest dialogue like that on the internet isn’t easy and can get hostile quickly. But the phrase itself is super normal for people who do actually try really hard to appreciate the side of those who disagree with them.

 

[eclipsoul]

i mean i see where they're coming from but still this is the bare minimum. like why don't they just ban that shit as a whole... first of all you have to be a fucking moron to enjoy AI music second of all if the chaser by infinite didn't need any planet destroying "tools" to be made then neither does any song made in the year 2026

 

[ChiaraStar169]

i mean i see where they're coming from but still this is the bare minimum. like why don't they just ban that shit as a whole... first of all you have to be a fucking moron to enjoy AI music second of all if the chaser by infinite didn't need any planet destroying "tools" to be made then neither does any song made in the year 2026

as a creative, I wholeheartedly agree 1000%! idc how "smart" a move you think this is, and idegaf if there are still rules regarding AI music. I say it's the fucking dumbest, most LUDICROUS move a government can make! whoever made the decision to lift that ban oughta be shot, and that's putting it nicely. And AI takes away from real artists - now that the ban has been lifted, I fear K-pop as we know it is doomed to become solely AI-assisted!

 

[eclipsoul]

as a creative, I wholeheartedly agree 1000%! idc how "smart" a move you think this is, and idegaf if there are still rules regarding AI music. I say it's the fucking dumbest, most LUDICROUS move a government can make! whoever made the decision to lift that ban oughta be shot, and that's putting it nicely. And AI takes away from real artists - now that the ban has been lifted, I fear K-pop as we know it is doomed to become solely AI-assisted!

THIS! obviously clarity is important but it feels like they're backing down and normalising the usage of AI in the industry by simply being like "well AI is fine if you just tell us you used it". if a human artist copied other works the way AI models do, they would likely face major copyright lawsuits and yet people see nothing wrong with using it as a "tool"? a sheet, an instrument, a voice recorder are all tools - not a billionaire-backed computer program which is detrimental to our future.

also agree that it does feel like kpop is doomed. it's already considered to be at its lowest point artistically so i fear being allowed to use AI is only going to make the songs sound worse and worsen the genre's reputation. and it's so unnecessary too like the most beloved kpop songs are from the 2010s where generative AI was not a thing at all. they do not need it!

 

[Selfmate]

interesting