Country singer Randy Travis, wife testify before Congress on AI, fair pay for musicians

On Wednesday afternoon, country singer Randy Travis and his wife Mary testified before Congress on the American Music Fairness Act and AI's involvement in music-making.

From Washington D.C., Travis and his wife spoke at a 1 p.m. CST hearing alongside SoundExchange CEO and President Michael Huppe.

Travis—the "Forever and Ever, Amen" singer and seven-time Grammy Award-winner—suffered a stroke in 2013 which left him with aphasia and, largely, the inability to speak or sing.

The Travises testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet at a hearing called “Radio, Music, and Copyrights: 100 Years of Inequity for Recording Artists.”

What is the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA)?

The hearing addressed a new proposed act, the American Music Fairness Act, or AMFA (H.R. 791), which was introduced to the House in February.

The new piece of legislation aims to close a 100-year-old loophole where AM/FM radio stations can skirt around paying artists royalties when their songs are played on air.

The act seeks artist compensation from non-subscription radio stations, aiming for licenses for broadcasting music over AM/FM radio.

What did Randy Travis and Mary Travis say before Congress?

Mary Travis served as a principal witness on her own behalf and also spoke on behalf of Travis about protecting music creators in the midst of AI advancements.

In an opening statement, she said, "We're staring AI technology squarely in the face. Artificial intelligence...I call it artistic intelligence because it enabled Randy to release a new song utilizing AI in its most authentic and artistic way."

Mary Travis said that Travis' new song, "Where That Came From," was the first song of its kind to ever be recorded and released with the help of AI and all artists' consent and involvement in a studio setting (the tune was made in Nashville).

Due to Travis' inability to sing, he worked with singer James Dupre, a frequent touring partner of his, and his producer helped to blend Dupre's vocals with Travis' using AI.

The song, which used stems from 42 to 45 of his songs to create the AI-generated vocals, is Travis' first new song since his stroke.

"It took us 11 months to do it...he spent months in the studio with his producer...and so the whole setting was very authentic, artistic and humanistic," said Mary Travis during her testimony. "It had all the heart in it."

"This is good, but there is bad no, there's terrible AI out there. And it's increasing exponentially daily. It's estimated that there's 179,000 songs, unauthorized songs, posted on the internet already," Mary Travis said.

Though AI has given Travis the use of his voice again, Mary Travis added that the unauthorized uses of artists' voices, such as unapproved uses of Travis' voice in AI, are damaging to artists in many ways.

"We asked for help in righting the wrong for legacy artists and creating a more prosperous future for the next generation of artists," she said.

"Passing the American Music Fairness Act, then moving forward with a thoughtful approach to putting AI protections in place, would be positive steps to ensure that artists are paid for their work," Mary Travis concluded.

Then, Michael Huppe of SoundExchange, a music rights organization, gave a statement.

"To put it bluntly, AM/FM radio has been stealing the music. Why? Because the broadcasters hide behind the outdated concept of promotion," he said. "Which is ironic, given that 72% of music on the radio today is not even new music," he explained.

"You must obtain a license to make a movie based on a book. You must get the rights from Major League Baseball to broadcast a Nationals game. These are both clearly promotional," Huppe said. "Why should music be any different?"

"After listening to...Randy's incredible story, I don't know how anyone can look Randy in the eye and say he doesn't deserve to be paid for his life's work," Huppe said.

Throughout the two-hour hearing, Huppe pointed out that over 200,000 songs would be played on terrestrial radio, and "the artists who perform the songs won't get paid for it."

Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Randy Travis talks to Congress about AI, fair pay in music industry