Streaming Platforms And Algorithmic Curation: Analyzing Copyright Challenges In Ai-Generated Playlists And Auto-Generated Content
- IJLLR Journal
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
Aishwarya G, LL.B., IFIM Law School (Affiliated to KSLU)
Introduction
Not long ago, finding new music involved waiting for your favourite song to come on the radio or rifling through the CDs at a record shop. Today, though, AI-driven streaming platforms do this for us—creating customised playlists, predicting what we might like, and effortlessly mixing songs into infinite recommendations on our behalf. But there is a real copyright issue behind this convenience. Oftentimes, AI algorithms incorporate copyrighted music without explicit licensing permission, creating disputes as to fair compensation of said artwork, should be given, and who owns the rights to it, and who should be held liable. Existing statutes, including Berne Convention, WIPO Copyright Treaty, DMCA, and EU Copyright Directive, were crafted for human creators, not machines curating, remixing, and generating original content on an unprecedented scale. To address this gap, the law must change. Licensing standards must reflect just compensation standards when AI-generated playlists feature creators' work. Streaming services need enhanced transparency, so creators may monitor the usage of their music. AI accountability laws need to clarify who is responsible for whatever infringement that might come up. As artificial intelligence continues to redefine music discovery, the challenge will be to balance innovation with the fundamental rights of creators, ensuring that technology enhances—not exploits—the artistry behind the music we love.
Role of AI in generating playlists and auto-recommending content
While manual content curation has a human touch to it, it has its demerits. Having to skim through tons of data, one may miss out on essential information due to the sheer volume. Here’s where AI curation comes into the picture; machine learning models can analyze and process thousands of datasets and recommend curated content based on user behaviour and preferences in a time that takes less than that required to make instant noodles. AI crawls the internet, finds pertinent content using preset criteria, and presents worthwhile articles, videos, and social media postings for review. To comprehend its main ideas, tone, and intended audience, it can also analyse text, photos, and even videos. This makes it possible to choose and classify stuff in great detail.
