Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry are among 200 artists calling for a ban on ‘predatory’ AI in the music industry – amid fears technology could replace them

Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry are among 200 high-profile artists calling for a stop to the “predatory” use of AI in the music industry.

In an open letter, several of the world’s biggest stars warned that technology will “ignite a race to the bottom” if left unchecked.

Using AI to steal artists’ voices, image and sound is an “assault on human creativity,” they said, and would “destroy the music ecosystem.”

Issued by the Artists Rights Alliance (ARA), the letter calls for a ban on artificial intelligence tools that undermine or replace human songwriters or their work.

The move is part of an industry-wide push for better regulation of generative AI, the technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney.

Fears over the use of AI have increased in recent months after a song that uses AI to imitate the voices of Drake and The Weeknd went viral online.

The signatories of the latest letter range from rock stars of the past, such as REM and Jon Bon Jovi, to pop stars of the moment, including Jess Glynne and Zayn Malik.

It warns that AI will “infringe on our rights and devalue the rights of human artists” if used irresponsibly.

‘This attack on human creativity needs to be stopped. “We must guard against the predatory use of AI to steal voices and likenesses from professional artists, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter says.

However, the letter does not call for an outright ban, adding that responsible use of the technology could have benefits.

Concern over the use of AI in the film industry, from script writing to scene production, was at the center of last year’s strikes by Hollywood actors and writers.

And it’s quickly moving into the music industry.

Last month, Tennessee, long known as the birthplace of country music, became the first US state to protect musicians from AI.

The legislation, called the “Elvis Law,” made vocal image a property right rather than a right of publicity.

The same already applies to names, photographs and likenesses.

The state’s governor, Bill Lee, said: ‘Artists have intellectual property. They have gifts. They have a uniqueness that is theirs and theirs alone, and it is certainly not artificial intelligence.’

Last year, music publishers Universal were among a group of companies that sued artificial intelligence firm Anthropic in the same state, alleging it used “countless” copyrighted song lyrics, including the Beaches’ God Only Knows. Boys and Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones, to train. your chatbot Claude.

Last month, the songwriter behind hits by Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue described the pace of change in the use of AI to potentially replace artists as “scary”.

Guy Chambers told The Guardian: “I think we may reach a stage in the future where an album will need to have a badge that says ‘this is a totally human record.’

“From what I’ve seen of AI, the acceleration is quite scary, in terms of what it can do and how it could replace composers.”