Policy & Ethics

Music Industry Divides Over AI as Labels Guard Catalogs, Independent Artists Go Unprotected

Credit: beatlibrary.io

Key Points

  • The music industry’s response to AI focuses on protecting existing catalogs, leaving independent artists without the tools to safeguard or verify their own work.
  • Sho Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEO of Beatlibrary, says this defensive mindset prevents progress and widens the gap between major labels and the creators driving new music.
  • He urges the industry to rebuild trust through data provenance, creating transparent infrastructure that verifies ownership and protects artists one creator at a time.
Sho Mitchell - Co-Founder and CEO | Beatlibrary
The major labels have billion-dollar catalogs they want to protect, so they invest in detection platforms. Our platform is focused on prevention for independent creators, because there’s no one else speaking up for them.Sho Mitchell - Co-Founder and CEO | Beatlibrary

The music industry is drawing a line in the sand over AI. Big labels are pouring money into detection tools, eager to shield their billion-dollar catalogs from imitation and infringement. But while they build defenses, independent creators are left without the tools to protect or verify their own work. The result is an uneven playing field where those shaping the future of music have the least protection in it.

Sho Mitchell isn’t interested in preserving the past; he’s building a future where creators can prove what’s theirs. As Co-Founder and CEO of Beatlibrary, a company building data provenance infrastructure for music, he draws on more than a decade of experience helping artists reach over a billion streams while running a 1,000-capacity live venue that keeps him close to the pulse of real music culture. That blend of tech and on-the-ground insight gives him a rare perspective, and from where he stands, the industry’s fixation on guarding catalogs is leaving the people who actually make music unprotected.

"No one’s talking about the protection of artists enough. Responsible AI use can coexist with creators' rights, but only if we build the infrastructure to prove it." says Mitchell. He frames the core issue as a misalignment of priorities. The industry’s largest players often view AI as a threat to be defended against, rather than a new reality to build for, he says.

  • Radio silence: That defensive perspective discourages them from investing in the infrastructure that would empower creators, defaulting instead to identifying AI content after the fact while leaving artists without preventative tools. "When we meet with labels and DSPs, our approach is to ask what they're doing to protect artists against AI, and most of them don’t have an answer. They’re treating AI like a big, scary monster."

  • Minding the gap: "The major labels have billion-dollar catalogs they want to protect, so they invest in detection platforms. Our platform is focused on prevention for independent creators, because there’s no one else speaking up for them," Mitchell explains.

    Sho Mitchell - Co-Founder and CEO | Beatlibrary
    With LLMs scraping the entire internet, the value of your creative data has dramatically increased. You must be able to say, 'This is mine, and I can prove it' with detailed provenance. Otherwise, you probably don’t have the resources to hire a lawyer.Sho Mitchell - Co-Founder and CEO | Beatlibrary

    For Mitchell, fixing the problem starts with rebuilding trust. The chaos of inconsistent data and hidden influences leaves creators unsure of what’s truly theirs. Without a clear record of a song’s origins and collaborators, artists are forced to gamble every time they upload new work. Provenance isn’t a buzzword to him, it’s the foundation of a system where creators can finally create without fear.

  • Error 404: Trust not found: "Think of an artist who finds a beat online, writes an amazing song, and then gets a takedown notice because the original track contained AI. That experience is the result of a broken system," says Mitchell. "Trust and provenance must be reestablished with infrastructure that gives creators a complete, verified report on their work's entire lifecycle, including its origin, its influences, and every person who contributed to it. That's the only way they can feel confident enough to upload their music and build a career."

  • Proof is the new platinum: "With LLMs scraping the entire internet, the value of your creative data has dramatically increased. You must be able to say, 'This is mine, and I can prove it' with detailed provenance. Otherwise, you probably don’t have the resources to hire a lawyer," he continues. In this context, definitively proving ownership is no longer simple record-keeping. It functions as a practical tool for legal and financial protection.

Building new standards in a fractured industry is no small task, but Mitchell isn’t waiting for a top-down solution. His vision starts from the ground up, with DSPs taking responsibility for transparency and giving artists real tools to protect their work. He sees trust as something earned through proof, built one creator at a time until protection becomes second nature.

"We’re entering a new era where infrastructure will be built one node at a time," he concludes. "Being good at what we do, verifying our data, and educating creators will slowly build a network that protects them. Every great company started one user at a time."