Dave Stewart to Creatives: AI is an unstoppable force - own your work and license it
Dave Stewart, co-founder of Eurythmics, isn't mincing words about AI. He calls it an "unstoppable force" and says creatives should license their voice, music, and skills to AI platforms - on their terms. His take is blunt: "Everybody should be selling or licensing their voice and their skills to these companies. Otherwise they're just going to take it anyway."
This push comes as major labels start opening the gates. Universal and Warner have struck partnerships with AI music platforms like Udio and Suno, allowing fans to create or manipulate tracks within opt-in systems. In theory, artists who agree get paid. In practice, the only real leverage is ownership.
Own your IP or lose control
Stewart predicts a break-up of the old guard: "There's going to be a disintegration of giant corporations controlling their artists." The message to creatives is clear - keep your rights, set your terms, and license with intent. If you don't own it, you can't price it, protect it, or participate in the upside as AI usage grows.
Rare Entity: funding without taking your rights
To push this shift, Stewart has launched Rare Entity with entrepreneurs Dom Joseph and Rich Britton. The model is simple: they help fund and build projects, but they don't take your underlying IP. Instead, they share in the revenue your idea generates. One early product is Planet Fans, a tool that helps artists and teams communicate directly with fans about ticketing, merch, and more.
This approach targets a long-standing problem where artists sit "right at the bottom" of corporate structures and feel grateful for deals that are usually terrible. Rare Entity flips that dynamic - keep ownership, collaborate on growth.
Why this matters now
Generative platforms can create new songs from learned patterns and prompts. Ask for "a raucous Britpop track about a messy night out," and an AI can deliver something new based on a blend of prior styles. That raises big questions: who's paying, who's opting in, and who is tracking usage?
If you own your masters, publishing, stems, and likeness rights (voice, image), you can license to AI systems with guardrails and a price. If you don't, others will make those decisions for you.
A practical playbook for creatives
- Inventory your rights: Masters, publishing, stems, voice/likeness, visuals, samples. Confirm who owns what. Fix gaps now.
- Register and document: Get songs and works properly registered. Keep clean split sheets and agreements.
- Define your AI policy: What's allowed? Training? Style simulation? Voice cloning? Set rates and usage rules.
- Create license tiers: Non-commercial fan use, commercial creator use, enterprise use, exclusives. Price each.
- Protect your identity: Consider watermarking and voice model fingerprints. Monitor misuse and set takedown paths.
- Negotiate opt-in only: No blanket approvals. Tie consent to reporting, audit rights, and clear royalty flows.
- Build direct channels: Own your fan relationships for sales, feedback, and launches. Tools like Planet Fans point the way.
New income streams to explore
- AI training and simulation licenses: Approve style/voice usage for specific platforms with strict terms.
- Co-creation products: Fan-made remixes or prompts with rev-share back to you.
- Stems and sample packs: Curated packs with clear commercial rights, priced by tier.
- Micro-sync at scale: Short-form placements with automated clearance and reporting.
Stewart's through-line: autonomy plus tools
This isn't new thinking for Stewart. He and Annie Lennox took a £5,000 bank loan in the early Eurythmics days to get moving. In 2002, he gathered Lou Reed, Stevie Wonder, Dr Dre, and others in a Deutsche Bank boardroom to push artists to build their own worlds and take control back.
He sees AI like a drum machine - useful in the right hands, dangerous in the wrong ones. It's a tool, not a substitute for taste, judgment, and intent.
He points to Gilbert & George's Ten Commandments for artists: "Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it." That's a good creative posture for this moment: move, experiment, protect your rights, and set your own deals.
Action steps for this week
- List your works, owners, and missing paperwork. Fix one gap today.
- Write a one-page AI licensing policy you can share with partners.
- Package one stem or sample product with clear terms and price.
- Open one direct channel to fans for updates and offers.
If you want structured training to get up to speed on AI tools and workflows that actually help your practice, browse highly practical programs here: AI courses by job.
Bottom line: own your IP, define your AI rules, and treat new platforms as distribution - not your boss.
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