Creating Without Disappearing: The Defining Fight for Creators’ Rights in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is opening unprecedented opportunities for the creation, production and distribution of cultural works. But it also raises a decisive question for the future of the creative industries: should innovation be allowed to flourish at the expense of the creativity it depends on?

For creators and music publishers around the world, the impact is already being felt. Generative AI models are ingesting music, audiovisual works, press content and other creative material at massive scale, without permission, transparency or remuneration. At the same time, AI-generated content is flooding digital platforms, competing directly with human-created works and eroding their value.

In music, the shift is accelerating at extraordinary speed. On some streaming platforms, nearly half of the tracks uploaded each day are now AI-generated, up from just 10%a few months ago. The trajectory is clear: if nothing changes, original works risk being submerged by an overwhelming volume of synthetic content.

Faced with this major technological shift, some may argue that we must choose: either let innovation develop at full speed without rules, or protect creativity at the expense of progress.

That is a false debate.

Culture and innovation have always moved forward together. Sacem is proof of that.

By combining the strength of French copyright law with technological expertise, Sacem has earned the trust of leading international publishers who have entrusted their catalogues to the organisation for online rights management. Sacem was also among the first collective management organisations to strike global licensing agreements with major streaming platforms and social media networks. Today, nearly half of the royalties distributed by Sacem come from digital and international sources.

Because it firmly believes in the emergence of a balanced market, one that fosters innovation while safeguarding creativity, Sacem is now at the forefront of the fight to protect copyright in the age of AI.

From the earliest wave of large-scale AI model training, Sacem exercised its opt-out rights to oppose the unauthorised use of its repertoires. At European level, Sacem actively supported the adoption of the AI Act, which entered into force on 1 August 2024 and establishes transparency obligations for AI model providers as well as safeguards for copyright.

Yet one reality is becoming increasingly clear: while the AI Act marks an significant step forward, effective implementation will take time, amid legal disputes and intense lobbying by powerful technology players. Meanwhile, generative AI companies continue to build their technological and economic power on the large-scale appropriation of creative works.

 Yet creators cannot afford to wait.

This is precisely the aim of the bill introduced by French Senator Laure Darcos on the presumption of use of cultural content by AI providers, actively supported by Sacem and 81 organisations from the cultural and media sectors.

Its principle is simple, yet fundamental: restoring balance.

Today, creators and rights holders are expected to prove that their works have been used to train AI models, despite having no access to the datasets involved and facing near-total opacity from AI providers. In practice, such proof is impossible to provide.

The bill seeks to correct this asymmetry by introducing a presumption of use:  whenever there are credible grounds to believe that a work has been used, AI providers would be required to demonstrate that their models were not trained on existing works without authorisation or remuneration.

The objective is not to slow innovation, nor to penalise European and French AI champions. Quite the opposite : it is about creating the conditions for a  sustainable market, in which licensing agreements, transparency and remuneration can finally become possible.

Why should cultural works, the raw material powering generative AI, be the only resource that can be exploited without agreement or compensation? No restaurant expects to source its ingredients without paying producers. No fashion company expects to use designers’ work for free. The creative economy cannot be the sole exception.

After being unanimously adopted by the French Senate in April 2026 and approved by the National Assembly’s Cultural Affairs Committee, the bill saw its parliamentary review suspended on 11 June 2026 following the filing of more than 100 amendments backed by technology sector interests. But the fight continues, and the proposal is expected to return to the National Assembly this autumn.

This battle is not only about the cultural sector. Culture is a democratic pillar, a driver of diversity and a cornerstone of sovereignty.

A nation that accepts its cultural heritage being absorbed without oversight or compensation by a handful of global platforms gradually gives up control over a fundamental part of its identity.

That message was reaffirmed by authors’ societies from around the world, members of CISAC, gathered in Paris this June to mark its 100th anniversary. Together, they launched the Paris Commitment, an international declaration calling for human creativity to be protected, respected and preserved as AI continues to transform the creative landscape.

France plays a distinctive role in this global debate. Historically committed to copyright protection and cultural diversity, it is being watched closely far beyond its borders. Today, many cultural stakeholders around the world look to France as a model.Sacem is not stepping back. Its participation in the AI Action Summit held in Paris in 2025, and again at its second edition in Lille in June 2026 alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, reflects its determination to help shape a model that reconciles technological innovation, digital sovereignty and the protection of creativity.

Because the real challenge is not to resist progress.

It is to ensure that the technological revolution we are living through does not come at the expense of human creativity.