From left to right: Bob Lefsetz, Donald S. Passman, Wesley Schultz, Milana Rabkin Lewis and Tyler Grimm.

Yesterday, in a highlight of a busy GRAMMY week, Bernie Cahill and his partners at Activist Artists Managementalong with Brandy Schultz, President of Sound Future, hosted a panel discussion on “Music in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”. The panel was moderated by music industry analyst and critic Bob Lefsetz and included an all-star panel consisting of Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, veteran music attorney Donald S. Passman, STEM CEO Milana Rabkin Lewis, and Chief Counsel for Policy & Strategy for the U.S. House of Representatives Tyler Grimm.

The spirited and candid discussion explored the current state of AI and highlighted some actions the music industry may take to protect the rights of human creators. The group further delved into the creative and music business uses for AI, the legislation that may regulate the use of AI and whether or not the music industry should fear AI or embrace the potential it may deliver.

While there were more questions than answers, the overall sentiment is that the industry needs to learn from its past and find ways to harness new AI technologies while making sure artists are paid and reputations are protected. The standing room only audience at Activist’s West Hollywood office included over 200 forward thinking executives from both music and tech, including Don Was, Terah Lyons, Elliot Groffman, Mark Geiger and Kimbal Musk, to name a few.