AFEM’s Jay Ahern: Why AI music needs consent, credit and compensation

AFEM has just announced its collaboration with AIxchange

12 May 2026

"There’s a culture that’s developed where there’s a lot of confusion around copyright. People often see it as a pain in the arse"

As generative AI continues to reshape the music industry, the electronic music world is finding itself at the centre of one of the sector’s biggest debates: how music data should be used to power the future of music creation. For Jay Ahern, chief strategy officer at the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM), any future AI framework must begin with creator consent.

Speaking ahead of AFEM’s newly announced collaboration with AIxchange at IMS 2026, Ahern lays out a vision for a more transparent and consent-driven AI ecosystem – one built around credit, compensation, and artist choice, rather than unchecked scraping and legal grey areas.

Read the full article on Headliner.

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