How to Prove a Song Is Yours: Manchester Event Tackles AI and Creative Rights
Andrew Melchior, a composer and technologist who advises the UK government on AI and copyright, visited the University of Manchester on 18-19 May to discuss how artists can protect their work as generative AI systems train on copyrighted material without permission.
Melchior serves as CTO of Massive Attack and founded Genotone Ltd, an organization focused on artist provenance-the ability to verify who created something and trace its origins. He represents roughly 30,000 artists through industry groups including the Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition in government technical working groups on AI and copyright.
The visit centered on a public lecture titled "Proof of Human: AI, Copyright, and the Fight for Creative Authorship," held at SISTER in Manchester's Innovation District. Melchior argued that the problem facing creators today is not only legal but structural. Without reliable systems to verify authorship and track creative lineage, existing copyright protections cannot be enforced effectively.
He was joined in conversation by John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International, and fielded audience questions.
What the visit included
- A masterclass for undergraduate and postgraduate music and composition students on maintaining provenance and intellectual property control while producing and releasing music
- A roundtable discussion with academics and policymakers examining how AI affects creative industries and artist livelihoods
Melchior said: "The University of Manchester is one of the few places in the UK where the technical and cultural dimensions of this debate genuinely intersect. I will be talking about what it means, in practice, to prove that something was made by a human being, why that question has become the central legal and ethical challenge in music, and how the infrastructure we are building at Genotone intends to answer it at scale, for every artist."
Why this matters for creatives
Large-scale AI systems trained on vast datasets of copyrighted material-often without artist consent or payment-are disrupting how creative work is protected. For musicians, producers, composers, and other creators, the stakes are immediate: without proof of authorship, enforcing rights becomes nearly impossible.
The timing is significant. Sir Robin Jacob, a former Lord Justice of Appeal in Intellectual Property, recently joined Genotone's advisory board, signaling institutional backing for artist provenance infrastructure.
Creatives interested in understanding how AI affects copyright and authorship may find value in exploring Generative AI and LLM Courses or AI for Creatives resources that address practical implications for creative practice.
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