AI Copyright Rules and India’s Growing Music-Tech Economy: Two Global Music Industry Developments
The global music industry is changing rapidly, with technology reshaping both how music is protected and how independent artists build their careers.
In New Zealand, Recorded Music NZ has published a new position paper calling for existing copyright protections to remain in place and for AI companies to obtain licences before using music to train their systems.
Meanwhile, India’s independent music sector is seeing rapid growth in music-tech platforms. Madverse now reports more than 200,000 artists and labels across more than 45 countries, while platforms such as Damroo are providing independent and regional creators with distribution, publishing and production services.
These are two separate developments, but both reflect an important shift in the modern music industry: artists and rights holders increasingly need both access to better music infrastructure and stronger control over how their work is used.
New Zealand Music Industry Calls for Licensed AI Training
What Is Recorded Music NZ Asking the Government to Do?
Recorded Music NZ published its “AI, Copyright and the Future of NZ Music” position paper on 16 September 2026.
The organisation is asking the New Zealand government to maintain existing copyright protections and not introduce new copyright exceptions that would allow AI companies to use music for training without permission.
Recorded Music NZ argues that AI companies should be able to license music through the existing copyright system when they want to use copyrighted recordings for AI training.
The organisation's proposal has three main areas:
Maintain existing copyright protections.
Require meaningful transparency from AI companies.
Take a coordinated national approach to AI regulation.
Why Does Recorded Music NZ Want AI Companies to Obtain Licences?
Recorded Music NZ's position is that existing copyright law already gives artists and rights holders control over how their recordings are used.
Under its proposed approach, an AI company that wants to use copyrighted music for training would seek permission from the relevant rights holders and obtain a licence.
The organisation argues that licensing would allow rights holders to make informed decisions about whether their music can be used and under what conditions.
This is part of a wider international debate over whether AI developers should be able to use copyrighted music as training material without permission or whether such uses should require licensing.
Why Does Recorded Music NZ Want AI Companies to Keep Training Records?
Recorded Music NZ is also calling for AI developers to retain records of the material used to train their systems.
The organisation says transparency about training data is important because rights holders need to know whether their music has been used.
According to Recorded Music NZ, access to these records could support both licensing and copyright enforcement, while allowing rights holders to make informed decisions about their work.
This issue is becoming increasingly important as AI models become more capable of generating music, vocals and other creative content.
Without information about training datasets, rights holders can face difficulties determining whether their works were included in the development of an AI system.
What Else Is Recorded Music NZ Proposing?
The organisation is also calling for AI-generated content to be properly labelled.
It has additionally called for a coordinated, government-wide approach to AI because it argues that the potential risks of AI extend beyond copyright.
Recorded Music NZ wants the music and wider creative industries to have a role in the development of future AI policy.
The proposal therefore goes beyond music licensing. It addresses transparency, accountability, copyright and the broader regulatory environment surrounding artificial intelligence.
Why Does This Matter for Artists and Rights Holders?
For musicians, composers, labels and other rights holders, the debate is fundamentally about control over creative work.
The questions include:
Can an artist decide whether their music is used for AI training?
Should AI companies obtain licences to use copyrighted music?
Should developers disclose what music was included in training datasets?
How can rights holders identify unauthorized uses?
Should AI-generated music be clearly labelled?
These questions are being debated across multiple music markets, making AI copyright policy an increasingly important issue for the global music industry.
India’s Music-Tech Sector Expands Support for Independent Artists
How Many Artists Does Madverse Serve?
India-based music-tech company Madverse says its platform now serves more than 200,000 independent artists and labels across more than 45 countries.
The company reported that artists and labels on its platform have collectively generated more than 3 billion streams across global digital streaming platforms.
Madverse was founded in New Delhi in 2023 and has positioned itself as technology infrastructure for independent artists and labels.
Its current platform combines several services that artists traditionally had to obtain from different companies or through a traditional record-label structure.
What Services Does Madverse Provide?
Madverse provides services covering several parts of the music business, including:
Digital music distribution
Royalty collection
Music publishing administration
Sync licensing
Marketing
Analytics
Artist services
Rights management
The company says its platform is designed to allow artists and rights holders to maintain independence and control over their work while accessing professional music-business infrastructure.
A recent report by The Financial Express also highlighted Madverse's combination of distribution, royalty collection, publishing, sync and marketing services as part of the growth of India's independent music ecosystem.
What Is Driving India’s Independent Music Growth?
India's music market has historically been heavily influenced by film music, but independent and regional music is becoming increasingly important.
The Financial Express reported that India has more than 40,000 active music creators producing independent and regional repertoire. The report also identified growing demand for technology platforms that can provide artists with distribution, royalty management, rights administration, marketing and other services without requiring a traditional label deal.
This creates a growing market for companies that can provide the infrastructure independent artists need to operate professionally.
What Is Damroo?
Damroo is another Indian music-tech platform serving independent and regional artists.
Its services include music distribution, publishing support, YouTube management and production assistance. Reporting on India's independent music sector identifies Damroo alongside Madverse as part of the growing ecosystem of companies providing label-style services to independent creators.
The emergence of multiple companies offering these services indicates that independent artists are increasingly looking for more than simple music distribution.
They also need support with:
Royalty collection
Publishing
Marketing
Audience development
YouTube management
Production
Rights administration
Analytics
Why Is Music-Tech Important for Independent Artists?
Digital distribution has already made it possible for artists to release music globally without signing a traditional record deal.
The next development is the expansion of the artist-services model.
Instead of providing only a way to upload a song to Spotify or Apple Music, music-tech companies are increasingly building platforms that cover multiple parts of an artist's career.
This can give independent musicians access to services that were historically associated with larger record labels.
The model is particularly relevant to regional and independent music because artists can build audiences around their own languages, cultures and musical styles while accessing international digital platforms.
What Do These Developments Mean for the Global Music Industry?
The developments in New Zealand and India represent different sides of the modern music economy.
In New Zealand, the focus is on protecting creative rights as artificial intelligence develops.
In India, the focus is on building infrastructure that allows independent artists to participate in the global digital music economy.
Both demonstrate how the role of technology in music is expanding.
Technology is no longer only changing how listeners consume music. It is also changing:
How artists distribute their work.
How royalties are collected.
How publishing rights are administered.
How music is licensed.
How artists access international audiences.
How copyrighted music is used to develop AI systems.
How rights holders monitor and protect their catalogs.
What Should the Music Industry Watch Next?
Several developments will be important to follow:
Whether New Zealand introduces new rules around AI training and copyright.
Whether AI companies increasingly adopt licensing models for music.
How governments require AI developers to disclose training data.
Whether more music-tech platforms expand internationally from regional markets.
How independent artists use integrated distribution and rights-management services.
How publishing, royalty collection and sync services develop alongside digital distribution.
The global music industry is increasingly built around access, ownership and transparency.
For independent artists, better technology can provide access to services once available mainly through traditional industry structures.
For rights holders, stronger transparency can provide greater control over how creative works are used in emerging technologies.
As both trends continue, the ability to distribute, monetize, document and protect music rights will remain central to the future of the global music business.
Art City follows developments across music, technology, copyright, distribution, royalties and the global creative industries.
