State of Play: Artificial Intelligence and Music Publishing (Online Seminar)

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Maybe we could keep the top line “As AI continues to reshape the music business, what does it mean for music publishers, copyright ownership and the future of human creativity? Join us for this online seminar to find out more!”

Leading voice on AI and creators’ rights, Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of Fairly Trained, will deliver the keynote at our upcoming online seminar, State of Play: Artificial Intelligence and Music Publishing, on Tuesday 17 November.

He’ll be joined by leading experts in policy, copyright law and AI for a morning of talks exploring some of the most pressing questions facing our industry:

Ornella Akanga – The MPA’s position on AI and the key policy challenges facing music publishers.

Georgia Jenkins – How AI models are trained, including the role of tokens and data.

Florian Koempel – Exploring who can be credited as the creator of AI-generated music and who owns the rights to it.

Date: Tuesday 17 November  

Tickets:  

• MPA Members – £75+VAT 
• Non-Members – £90 +VAT 

10:00 – Quick Introduction (2 mins) 

10:02 – The MPA Viewpoint: AI and Music Publishing (13 mins)  

Ornella Akanga (Chief Policy & Public Affairs Officer, MPA) 

Outlining the MPA’s position on AI and the key policy issues affecting the music publishing sector, including copyright protection, transparency and the fair remuneration of creators and rightsholders. It will also provide an overview of the UK government’s roadmap for AI and copyright, sharing what is driving their policy decisions and the impact on music publishers. 

10:15 – Music in the Age of AI: Understanding Tokens and Training (45 mins) 

Georgia Jenkins (Law Lecturer & IP LLM Director, University of Liverpool) 

Exploring the technology behind generative AI, including how training data is processed and the role of tokens in enabling AI systems to generate new content. It will also consider the relationship between AI training and copyright, helping music publishers better understand the technology and the legal questions surrounding its use of creative works. 

11:00 – Authorship, Attribution and AI: Who Owns the Music? (45 mins) 

Florian Koempel (Teaching Fellow, Queen Mary University of London & Special Advisor, MPA) 

Discussing copyright law and how it applies to AI-generated and AI-assisted music, including what qualifies for protection and how human creative contributions can be recognised. It will also examine the challenges facing music publishers and CMOs in identifying AI involvement, attributing ownership and ensuring creators are fairly remunerated. 

11:45 – Coffee break (15 mins) 

12:00 – State of Play: AI, Music and the Future of Human Creativity (60 mins) 

Ed Newton-Rex (CEO, Fairly Trained) 

Examining the latest lawsuits brought against AI music companies and developments in AI regulation around the world, this session will explore what these changes mean for music publishers, copyright protection and creators’ rights. It will also consider the importance of transparency, consent and fair remuneration in shaping a more sustainable relationship between AI companies and the creative industries. 

 

Get tickets

 

📅 Tuesday 17 November 2026 

🕙 10am–1pm | Online 

🎟️ MPA Members: £75 + VAT | Non-members: £90 + VAT