What to ask your publisher about AI

If you are published, or your rights sit with a collecting society, then someone else is deciding whether your work goes into AI deals. You are entitled to know how they are handling it. These are the questions worth putting to them directly.

• Has any of my work already been used to train AI systems, as far as you know? Transparency is poor across the industry, so the answer may be partial, but it is worth asking.
• What is your default position – do you opt my works in or out of AI training, and can I change that? Some administrators will only license with explicit permission; others may take a different approach. Find out which, and how to set your own preference.
• If my work is licensed for AI, how is the income calculated, and how does it reach me? Ask how AI income is split and tracked, not only whether a deal exists.
• How are you handling songs with multiple writers? Because one writer’s refusal can block a whole work, ask how disagreements among co-writers are managed.
• What are you doing about AI output that imitates my style or reproduces my work? Licensing the input is only half of it; ask whether the terms cover AI-generated output that competes with you.
• Where do I go if I want to opt out, or raise a concern, later?

You do not need a legal background to ask any of these. A good answer will be specific: whether they opt your works in or out, how AI income is calculated and split, and how you would change your decision later. A vague answer, or none at all, tells you they have not got to grips with it, and you are within your rights to push for detail in writing. Keep a record of what you are told, because positions here are changing fast and you may need to hold a publisher to what it said.