At a recent World Soundtrack Awards industry panel, composer Simon Franglen struck a common chord when discussing his work on Avatar: Fire and Ash. The veteran composer posed a fundamental question about the limits of artificial intelligence in replicating human artistry.

“We had hundreds of musicians in a room, pouring their emotion out in that precise second,” he recalled. “How can that ever be replicated by AI?”

The WSA Film Music Days, held October 8-10 in Ghent, Belgium, took aim at that very question. The three-day gathering brought together industry professionals for talks, roundtables and networking sessions addressing composers’ most pressing concerns in an era of rapid technological change.

Building Collective Power in the Music Industry

Labor structures present a significant hurdle for music creators seeking to organize. Unlike many other key creatives and department heads, composers in the United States and United Kingdom face legal barriers to unionizing and collective bargaining. The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance helps fill that gap, uniting national associations to lobby policymakers and guide young composers through contracts and negotiations.

Representing more than 30,000 composers and songwriters across 57 member organizations, ECSA had a strong presence in Ghent. The organization hosted a roundtable before receiving this year’s WSA Industry Award, recognizing its efforts to advocate for music creators across Europe.

ECSA president Helienne Lindvall accepted the award with a pointed message about the importance of collective representation. She emphasized that composers must claim their seat at industry decision-making tables or risk being exploited by more powerful interests.

“There’s still a long way to go and a lot of work to do,” Lindvall said in accepting the award. “But one thing is clear: We have become a voice to be reckoned with, giving composers and songwriters a seat at the table. Because, as someone once said, if you’re not sitting at the table, chances are you’re on the menu.”

Three Core Demands to Protect Creative Rights

To counter the growing threat of generative AI, ECSA is pushing to shape the European Union’s evolving AI Act around three core demands. First, AI companies must obtain permission before using copyrighted music to train generative models. Second, creators must receive fair compensation for that use. Third, platforms must disclose which catalogs and datasets they use in their systems.

The organization frames these principles as essential to preserving the livelihoods of professional composers and songwriters. Without these protections, advocates warn that technology companies could harvest decades of creative work without paying the artists who produced it.

“If we want to protect those at the heart of music creation, we must continue to defend the three fundamental principles of Authorization, Remuneration and Transparency,” Lindvall said. “In other words, our art.”

Warning About Platform Terms of Service

Platforms like AI music generator Suno make those demands all the more urgent, according to industry advocates. Lindvall delivered a blunt warning for musicians and composers curious about experimenting with the technology, urging them to carefully examine what rights they surrender when uploading their work.

The ECSA president implored creators to read terms of service agreements before using AI platforms. Even casual experimentation – such as uploading a composition to see if the system can generate a guitar part – may grant the platform sweeping rights to use and commercially exploit that music without further permission or payment.

The warning highlights a common concern among creative professionals: that AI companies are building profitable businesses by training their systems on copyrighted works without adequately compensating the original creators. Once artists grant those rights through platform agreements, they may lose control over how their music is used, modified or distributed.

The Emotional Core of Human Performance

Franglen’s opening remarks at the panel underscored what many composers believe sets human performance apart from algorithmically generated music. The composer emphasized the irreplaceable quality of live musicians capturing emotion in real time during recording sessions for major productions like the Avatar franchise.

His question about whether AI can replicate that emotional immediacy resonated throughout the three-day conference. While AI tools can generate music that follows compositional rules and mimics stylistic patterns, advocates argue they lack the spontaneous human element that defines memorable film scores and original compositions.

The World Soundtrack Awards gathering demonstrated that composers recognize the need for collective action in responding to technological disruption. The event’s focus on labor organizing, legal advocacy and practical warnings about platform terms reflected an industry mobilizing to protect both creative integrity and economic sustainability.

European Leadership on AI Regulation

ECSA’s efforts to shape the EU AI Act position Europe as a potential leader in establishing guardrails for generative technology. The organization’s three-pronged framework – requiring authorization, ensuring remuneration and demanding transparency – could serve as a model for other jurisdictions grappling with similar questions.

As the conference concluded, participants left with a clear message: composers need not face the challenges of the AI era alone. Through organizations like ECSA and events like the WSA Film Music Days, the industry is building networks of mutual support and political advocacy to defend the value of human creativity in an increasingly automated world.

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