The three biggest PROs in North America, ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN, have jointly announced new alignment on how songs containing AI-generated elements will be handled.
by AiSongFix Staff | November, 20, 2025.
For creators working with AI tools, this is a meaningful update. But as with most AI-related policy news, the language is cautious, carefully phrased, and still leaves plenty of gray areas. If you're writing or refining AI-assisted songs, here's what actually matters, and how to make sure your music stays eligible for registration and royalties.
According to the joint announcement released by ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN on October 28, 2025, these three PROs will now accept registrations for songs that include AI-generated elements, provided the work also contains substantial human authorship. This covers compositions where a writer used AI for melodic ideas, chord suggestions, lyrics, arrangements, or brainstorming, and then shaped the final result creatively.
The PROs also state clearly that songs created entirely by AI are not eligible for registration. If the machine wrote the whole thing, there is no human author, and therefore no legal foundation for royalties.
In addition, all three organizations emphasized that training AI models on copyrighted music without permission is not fair use. In their words, it's theft. While this doesn't directly prevent you from using AI tools, it reinforces an important point: creators must be cautious about the platforms they rely on.
SESAC has remained silent on the details of registering AI-influenced songs, offering no specific public policy yet. Their broader stance, however, is clear: they oppose unlicensed AI training and support creator-first transparency standards through the Human Artistry Campaign. Until SESAC announces its own AI registration policies, writers should assume the same standard applies as with other PROs: AI may assist, but only human authorship counts.
If this feels like a restatement of what the U.S. Copyright Office already says, that's because it is. The new PRO policy almost precisely mirrors the federal standard:
What's still not defined is the threshold: How much human input is "enough"? What counts as "meaningful" authorship? The PROs don't say. That vagueness isn't an accident. It's a cautious move in a rapidly changing landscape.
If you use AI tools responsibly, nothing here shuts the door on your music. In fact, the announcement legitimizes what many writers are already doing: combining AI-generated inspiration with human craft.
But to remain eligible for PRO registration:
AI can spark ideas, but it cannot replace your creative role.
The safest approach is simple:
It does not mean you can:
The PROs are making space for hybrid works, not fully machine-authored songs.
If you're planning to register an AI-influenced song, follow these creator-safe best practices:
Rewrite. Rearrange. Add emotion. Refine the melody. Shape the story. Make it yours.
Save drafts, lyric versions, voice memos, and revisions. If your authorship is challenged, you'll need to show it.
Choose platforms with transparent licensing and commercial-use rights. If the model was trained illegally, you inherit that risk.
Never submit raw AI lyrics or melodies. Your creative fingerprint must be clearly visible.
Claim authorship only for the parts you honestly wrote or rewrote. Misrepresentation creates significant legal vulnerabilities.
ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN have opened the door for AI-assisted songs, but only when humans remain the real creators. Their aligned policy doesn't change the fundamental rule: You must still be the author. AI can help you write, but it cannot replace you.
For creators working with AI tools, the message is clear:
Use the tech, get inspired by it, but always finish the song yourself. Human emotion, human story, human nuance, those are the elements that make a work copyrightable, registerable, and ultimately, yours.
Need to humanize your AI song? We can help rewrite your lyrics, melody, or track to make it ready for copyright and pitching.
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