ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus says creators are 'not in the room' as AI laws take shape
Björn Ulvaeus, the ABBA songwriter who now leads the global creators’ body CISAC, used the group’s annual report to deliver a blunt message: human creators are “not being heard” as governments write the rules for AI. Lawmakers are finally engaging with AI and copyright, he said, but the people whose work feeds these models are rarely in the room when it happens.
Lawmakers are listening. Mostly to labels.
Who actually gets consulted on AI
Ulvaeus welcomes the wave of new laws and consultations taking shape around the world. His worry is who sits at the table. When governments consult the creative industries, he notes, they tend to start with the big labels, publishers, and studios, or their representatives, not the individual songwriters and performers whose catalogs train the models.
Creators are being left out of the economic picture. They are not being remunerated for the use of their works, nor have they been acknowledged as being essential to the progression of the technology.
Complete Music Update reported the comments from CISAC’s latest annual report. It is a familiar theme for Ulvaeus, who has pressed UK and EU lawmakers on creator rights before.
What it means for songwriters
If you write or perform, the gap Ulvaeus describes is the one between your collecting society speaking for you and you speaking for yourself. Both matter. The fights that decide whether AI pays creators, like a fair licensing model or tools that actually pay artists, get shaped in rooms most working musicians never see. Watching from the outside is the weakest position.
Frequently asked questions
What did Björn Ulvaeus say about AI in CISAC's annual report?
Ulvaeus said it is good that lawmakers are now weighing copyright questions around AI, but that human creators are too often 'not in the room' when those decisions get made, so their voices are 'not being heard.' He also said creators are being left out of the economic picture and are not being paid for the work used to train AI models.
Who is Björn Ulvaeus and what is CISAC?
Björn Ulvaeus is a songwriter and member of ABBA who serves as President of CISAC, the international body that represents authors' collecting societies worldwide. CISAC publishes an annual report on the state of creator rights and royalty collection.
Why does Ulvaeus say creators are left out of AI policy?
Ulvaeus argues that when governments consult the creative industries on AI, they tend to start with large labels, publishers, and studios or their representatives, rather than the individual songwriters and performers whose catalogs train the models. That gap, he says, makes the debate feel distant to working creators.
About the author
Covering AI music tools, industry shifts, and news for music creators and professionals. Twice-weekly newsletter at aimusicpreneur.com.
