AI in Sydney Music Scene Sparks Creator Rights Debate

The inclusion of an AI-generated music act at a Sydney live venue has exposed deep divisions in Australia's creative sector over intellectual property, fair competition, and the economic future of working musicians. The incident at Bootleggers in Newtown highlights a growing tension between technological innovation and the protection of human creative labour, prompting venues to revise booking policies and artists to lobby federal parliament for regulatory clarity.

How did the AI performance incident unfold in Newtown?

Aidan Sammut, a local musician, was preparing for a gig at Bootleggers, located within Kelly's on King in Newtown, when he learned that another act on the Mixed Bag lineup used AI-generated content. The event was booked by music services company Good Intent. The AI act, Afro Charles, is fronted by Damian Amamoo, who performs live vocals alongside two virtual avatars, Mei Ling and Afro Charles, whose vocals are generated by AI.

Sammut expressed strong objection to sharing the stage with an AI act, describing the situation as an insult to human performers. He noted that the spot given to the AI act could have been allocated to a human band, reducing a paid opportunity for working artists in an already competitive market.

How are venues and bookers responding to AI acts?

Good Intent and Bootleggers have both distanced themselves from the booking. Good Intent released a statement taking full responsibility for not checking Afro Charles's social media, where the use of AI is stated. The company affirmed that it has never knowingly, and will never, book artists who use AI to generate music.

Rory Summers, the licensee of Kelly's on King, said Amamoo presented Afro Charles as a producer with live vocals. Summers noted that the venue does not act as an arbiter of taste, but chose to donate the bar profits from the night to Support Act, a charity supporting music industry workers, to avoid profiting from the AI performance. Bootleggers has now updated its booking process to explicitly ask artists whether they use AI in their music.

What are the intellectual property implications of AI music?

Amamoo created Afro Charles late last year using Suno, an AI music generator platform. He views AI as a creative tool, comparing it to drum machines or synthesizers, and argued that the market and customer demand should dictate its use. Suno allows users to condition their own voices or use built-in AI singers, enabling rapid song generation.

However, the technology operates in a legally contested space. Suno has faced lawsuits from major record labels and production music licensing library Jamendo regarding the training data used to power the platform. Warner Music signed a licensing deal with Suno late last year after settling a copyright infringement lawsuit initially launched in 2024. Amamoo acknowledged that principles of fair use and intellectual property must be resolved by the courts.

Why are Australian musicians lobbying the federal government?

The Sydney incident coincides with broader national concerns over uncompensated AI training data. A dataset search tool created by The Atlantic recently revealed that millions of creative works have been used to train AI models, including those of Australian artists Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, and Paul Dempsey.

Dempsey was among a group of Australian creatives who visited federal parliament this week to campaign against the uncompensated use of their work. Sammut argued that human creativity must remain central to music creation, drawing a distinction between digital tools like drum machines, which require human programming and understanding, and AI generators that automate the creative process. For emerging artists, the encroachment of AI into live venues represents a direct economic threat to their primary source of income.

Is AI-generated music legal in Australia?

AI-generated music currently exists in a regulatory grey area in Australia. While platforms like Suno operate commercially, their training methods face legal challenges globally regarding copyright infringement. Australian copyright law has not yet been updated to explicitly address the use of existing creative works to train AI models, leaving courts to interpret traditional fair use principles.

What is Suno and why is it controversial?

Suno is an AI music generator platform that allows users to create songs rapidly, using either built-in AI singers or conditioned versions of their own voices. It is controversial because major record labels and licensing libraries have sued the company, alleging that it uses copyrighted sound recordings as training data without permission or compensation.

How does AI impact emerging musicians' income?

Emerging musicians rely heavily on live performances as a primary source of income. The introduction of AI acts into live music venues increases competition for limited booking slots. If venues book AI-assisted acts at a lower cost, human performers face the risk of being displaced, reducing their ability to sustain a career in the music industry.