Borrowed Voices, Copyright Conflicts: The Legal Risks of AI Generated Music Using Artists’ Voices
05 October 2026,
Hlubi HadebeWith the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, new tools have emerged that can accelerate music production and make it easier... to create tracks for commercial release. These systems can replicate an artist’s voice with striking precision, generating new songs and recordings that sound convincingly authentic. These systems achieve this by analysing the unique vocal patterns of a singer and replicating them with remarkable accuracy. Crucially, this can be done without the artist’s consent, which is where the legal concerns arise. Such developments raise pressing questions about the rights of performers, whether this practice amounts to unlawful competition, and the extent to which artists are protected under copyright law or the Constitution.