Celine Dion cautions fans against 'AI-generated music' falsely featuring her voice, image
Celine Dion is addressing "AI-generated" recordings of her voice and image that are being circulated online.
A statement posted to the five-time Grammy Award winner's Instagram account Friday read, "It has come to our attention that unsanctioned, AI-generated music purporting to contain Celine Dion's musical performances, and name and likeness, is currently circulating online and across various digital service providers."
"Please be advised that these recordings are fake and not approved, and are not songs from her discography," the statement added.
The statement did not specify or name any of the recordings being circulated.
The statement comes amid ongoing discussion of the use of artificial intelligence in the music industry.
In April 2024, more than 200 artists including Jon Bon Jovi, Billie Eilish and Peter Frampton signed an open letter protesting the potential harm that AI poses to artists.
The letter was put out by the organization Artist Rights Alliance and decried the "predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem."
Last month, over 1,000 artists came together and released the silent album "Is This What We Want?" to protest the U.K. government's proposed changes to copyright law, which could permit tech firms to use copyrighted material to help train AI models, unless artists explicitly opt out.
Artists who were also featured on the album, which included 12 silent tracks that spelled out the message "The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies," included Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Cat Stevens, Hans Zimmer, The Clash and more.
"The government's proposal would hand the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians' work to outcompete them," composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album, said in a statement at the time. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary. The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus."
Peter Kyle, British secretary of state for Science, Innovation and Technology, said in a statement in December, "The UK has an incredibly rich and diverse cultural sector and a ground breaking tech sector which is pushing the boundaries of AI. It's clear that our current AI and copyright framework does not support either our creative industries or our AI sectors to compete on the global stage. That is why we are setting out a balanced package of proposals to address uncertainty about how copyright law applies to AI so we can drive continued growth in the AI sector and creative industries, which will help deliver on our mission of the highest sustained growth in the G7 as part of our Plan for Change."
He added, "This is all about partnership: balancing strong protections for creators while removing barriers to AI innovation; and working together across government and industry sectors to deliver this."
Lisa Nandy, British secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport, added in a statement, "This government firmly believes that our musicians, writers, artists and other creatives should have the ability to know and control how their content is used by AI firms and be able to seek licensing deals and fair payment. Achieving this, and ensuring legal certainty, will help our creative and AI sectors grow and innovate together in partnership."
