AI Threatens a Quarter of Music Creators’ Income: UNESCO Raises the Alarm

AI Threatens a Quarter of Music Creators’ Income: UNESCO Raises the Alarm

The global creative economy stands at a crossroads. A new 2026 UNESCO report, Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity, paints a stark picture: generative AI could cut global earnings of music creators by 24% and audiovisual specialists by 21% by 2028. The culprit? A surge of synthetic content flooding digital markets, intensifying competition for audience attention and royalties. Digital revenue for creators has grown—from 17% in 2018 to 35% today—but this growth comes with volatility. Rights violations are on the rise, algorithms increasingly bury independent artists, and generative AI accelerates this trend, directly encroaching on the income of human creators. UNESCO highlights a striking global imbalance. Only 28% of the population in developing nations possess basic digital skills, compared to 67% in developed regions. This digital divide, combined with the power of streaming giants and uneven access to tools and markets, disproportionately affects creators in the Global South. Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director-General, called this a critical juncture: the creative economy needs urgent interventions. Without stronger legal protections, regulatory updates, and targeted investments—cultural spending in most countries remains below 0.6% of GDP—many cultural workers risk marginalization. The 267-page report aggregates over 8,100 policy measures, forming a roadmap for governments to prioritize culture strategically. The goals are clear: safeguard livelihoods, close digital gaps, mitigate intellectual property risks, and ensure creativity remains a driver of social cohesion, economic growth, and cultural diversity rather than a casualty of technological acceleration. For music creators, the stakes are high. If projections hold, nearly a quarter of earnings could vanish within the decade. Governments, platforms, and the industry must act in concert to adapt regulations faster than the technology reshapes the market. In this context, transparency, equitable revenue sharing, and strategic policy decisions are no longer optional—they are survival tools for the human creative workforce. At OW, we stand for absolute fairness and transparency. The persistence of outdated practices in royalty distribution must end. Technology should empower creators, not undermine them. AI can be a tool for growth—but only if it works in the interest of real authors, their audiences, and label representatives.