Artists report unauthorized use of their work in AI training datasets
Bulgarian musicians reportedly identified their work being used without authorization to train AI music generation systems. They called for copyright protections and fair compensation, citing a gap in European AI regulation.
What happened
Bulgarian musicians including singer Рут Колева reported that their works were used to train AI systems without permission or compensation. Koleva identified 79 of her own compositions and videos used to train AI systems capable of generating songs by command.
AI-generated interpretations of music by Bulgarian Eurovision winner Dara appeared online, including performances in foreign languages and various stylistic variants, following her international competition appearances.
Reported impact
Musicians report that the lack of clear European regulation protecting creators leaves copyright organizations with limited ability to respond to unauthorized use of their works in AI training.
Музикаутор, Bulgaria's collective rights management organization, reported that violations continue despite the organization's insistence on strict rules, transparency and fair compensation when artists' work is used to train AI models.
Index analysis
The incident highlights a gap between rapid AI development and the absence of established legal frameworks to protect intellectual property rights of artists whose work is incorporated into training datasets without consent.
Governance controls
Kate Blanchett and Bulgarian MEP Ева Майдел launched a free registry allowing people to declare how AI systems may use their identity. Музикаутор called for strict rules, transparency and fair compensation for musicians whose work is used in AI model training.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.