ABBA Star Urges Musicians To Take A Chance On IP

Geneva, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 18th Nov, 2023) The United Nations and ABBA songwriter Bjorn Ulvaeus launched a new online platform Friday to help musicians understand their intellectual property rights as artificial intelligence threatens to derail the industry.

CLIP — Creators Learn Intellectual Property — is free to use and aims to show artists how to make sure they receive due credit for their work, especially with content increasingly consumed online.

The UN‘s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) teamed up with Ulvaeus, who co-wrote multiple mega-hits with Swedish pop group ABBA and co-founded the Music Rights Awareness Foundation.

Ulvaeus said CLIP was “sorely needed” as artificial intelligence risked flooding the market with billions of AI-generated songs based on the pre-existing work of others.

“The music industry today is so complex and getting more and more complex.

And to be able to manoeuvre as a new songwriter, you need to know what you’re doing,” he told AFP.

“You need some kind of education about the rights that you have, and the necessary things you have to do when it comes to registering that song.”

Ulvaeus said CLIP would help creators understand the complexities of the creative industries and maximise the value of their content.

The 78-year-old told a press conference at WIPO’s Geneva headquarters such knowledge was essential to sustain a music career.

“Songwriting takes a lot of work and time — and unless you can afford that time, you can’t become really a good craftsman, even if you’re talented. So you need to get paid, and to get paid you need to know your rights,” he said.

Ulvaeus said the ease of streaming had curbed piracy, however, if musicians did not register their songs, the streaming services don’t know who to pay.