Currently, songwriters who use AI music tools for creation often face rejection at every turn. However, the tide is slowly turning, and we'll show you a few things you can do to gain acceptance.
by AiSongFix Staff | August, 30, 2025.
It's anyone's guess what will happen with the use of generative AI in music and within the industry. However, it's pretty evident that the AI "genie" is out of the bottle and there's no putting it back.
I witnessed how Napster and the MP3 explosion completely disrupted the Music Industry's business model. We're back in the same waters with the AI revolution. The industry has its finger in a hole in the dam, but the cracks are growing bigger every day. This flood isn't going to be held back.
Instead, both the industry and creators will have to find a middle ground, deciding on acceptable uses of AI and legal ownership. If we apply the lessons of the MP3 revolution of music, it's clear that AI music is also unstoppable.
Think of it this way...Does a guitar play itself? No. Treat AI tools the same way. Use them as your instrument, your pen, your pencil, your recorder.
Direct AI. Control it. You should be the one driving and determining the final output, not AI.
Let's look at some ways to do just that.
When I studied prompt engineering, the professor repeatedly emphasized two crucial points.
These two statements have multiple meanings. Ethical and responsible considerations are part of those.
First, in practice, creators should avoid using simple, basic prompts. If you do, you're letting AI do all the thinking and creation, and you aren't in control of or influencing much of the output. You're removing the human from participation in creativity, and that hurts your copyright chances. (More about that later.)
Don't use simple, shallow prompts. Go deep. Dictate what's happening every step of the way, and insert your original creativity into the prompts.
Give AI detailed prompts. You may have to do this in several steps, rather than in one long prompt. Breaking steps down into a numbered list is a good practice. Using an outline and sub-steps (e.g., 1. A, b, c. 2. A, b, c, etc) can be even better.
Also, please don't accept the first thing AI gives you and call it good enough. Build on it. Revise it. Rewrite it. Keep going until you have something highly polished.
This type of effort is what will separate you from everyone else who is composing songs with AI. Work until you have created something compelling, emotionally resonant, and has a point of view that's interesting, fresh, or original.
The trailblazing signing of "AI Music Designer" Imoliver to a major label hasn't quite busted the door wide open for other AI music creators as yet. This first step has opened a wedge, and how successful Imoliver becomes may determine whether others are allowed to squeeze through.
Presently, Industry gatekeepers, including record labels, music publishers, performing rights organizations (PROs), and music licensing agencies, continue to reject music that incorporates AI-generated content.
Some won't accept submissions that contain any use of AI, while others follow the guidelines of the US Copyright Office. Meaning, if the copyright office granted someone a copyright on their AI collaboration, then they will accept a submission. This makes sense, as you have no legal protection in the courts if your creation does not have a copyright. All these entities are in the business of earning revenue, and they can't do so without clear legal ownership and protection.
It's very much like the Wild Wild West when it comes to the law and AI music. The adoption of the technology is growing, and its capabilities are improving rapidly — faster than legal statutes can keep up with.
The US Copyright Office has been vague at best with its guidelines, with very few obvious requirements, stating that copyright for musical works containing AI-generated content will be evaluated on a "case-by-case basis." This stance makes it difficult for creators to understand what they need to do to secure copyright protection for their songs.
If you think new laws are coming that will straighten this out, think again. In the US Copyright Office's report entitled "Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability" (🌐↗ PDF), it states:
"Questions of copyrightability and AI can be resolved pursuant to existing law, without the need for legislative change."
It's vital for songwriters using AI to understand that, currently, the US Copyright Office does not consider prompting a form of creativity, since AI controls the output.
However, I believe there's a strong case to be made for detailed, repeated, and progressive prompting, where you insert original human creativity at every step. When AI is using your lyric or melody — that's an original composition. It's coming from the human, and the AI is then working off of it. Not the other way around.
I'm not an attorney, but I know prompt engineering. I believe there's a case to be made here. That's just my opinion.
However, for true clarity, songwriters will have to seek expert legal advice from entertainment attorneys who specialize in music to help determine if their particular prompts contain original creation. Undoubtedly, this is why the US Copyright Office has stated that AI collaborations will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
To obtain a copyright for collaborations with AI on creative works, the US Copyright Office demands documentation to determine the level of human contribution.
Only humans are eligible for copyright.
Unfortunately, there is no set rule or amount of human involvement that the office demands. At least, they aren't sharing that information with the public. It's essentially a matter of judgment. Therefore, it seems only logical that the better your documentation, the better your chances of approval.
Songwriters should get in the habit of documenting every step of their collaboration with generative AI from the start.
➡️ To help make this easy, you can download our ...
AI Song Human Contribution Checklist | ↓📁 (PDF 155.33 KB)
This will help you track the creative process along the way, providing dates, times, and detailed information about the specific parts of a musical work that you created.
Need to humanize your AI song? We can help rewrite your lyrics, melody, or track to make it ready for copyright and pitching.
Country Demo Studio 🌐↗