AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations

Recep Ünal; Ahmet Taylan

doi:10.24955/ilef.1687789

TR EN

AI Cover Şarkılar: Teknoloji, Telif Hakkı ve Etik İhlaller Arasında Tartışmalı Bir Üretim Modeline Dair Dinleyici Görüşleri

Öz

Yapay zekâ (YZ) teknolojisinin hızlı gelişimi, diğer pek çok alanda olduğu gibi yaratıcı endüstri alanında da çeşitli yenilikleri ve tartışmaları beraberinde getirmiştir. Örneğin müzik sektöründe üretken yapay zekâ (ÜYZ) teknolojileri hem üreticiler hem de müzik dinleyicileri açısından yeni deneyimlerin kapılarını aralamaktadır. ÜYZ modelleri ile ses klonlamaya dayalı AI cover şarkılar bu bağlamda dikkat çekmektedir. ÜYZ ile bir sanatçının vokal stili veya müzikal karakteri taklit edilebilir hale gelmiştir. Ancak bu yeni müzik üretim pratiği, telif hakkının yanı sıra manevi hakların ihlali açısından da tartışmalara neden olmuştur. Bu çalışmada AI cover şarkılarla ortaya çıkan sorunların sadece bu içeriklerin üretimi değil, tüketimi bağlamında da tartışılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda YouTube’da en çok dinlenilen Türkçe AI cover şarkılara yapılan dinleyici yorumları tematik analiz tekniği ile incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda dinleyicilerin eserleri, destekleyici yorumlarının dışında etik sınırların belirsizliği, sanatçının mirasına saygı, telif hakkı konusunda endişeler ekseninde de değerlendirdiği görülmüştür. Bu bağlamda çalışmada, üretken yapay zekânın müzik endüstrisindeki geleceğinin yalnızca teknolojik gelişmelerle değil, aynı zamanda bu tür eleştirilerin dikkate alınmasıyla şekillenmesi gerektiği vurgulanmıştır. Elde edilen temalar, dinleyicilerin AI cover şarkıları bir yandan olumlayıcı bir nostalji ve remix pratiği olarak gördüğünü, diğer yandan sanatçı rızası, adil kazanç ve yapay/otantik ses ayrımı üzerinden sorguladığını göstermektedir. Çalışmada Braun ve Clarke’ın tematik analiz yaklaşımı izlenmiş, 4.029 yorum yedi ana tema altında sınıflandırılmış ve dinleyici söylemleri katılımcı kültür ve YZ etiği literatürüyle ilişkilendirilmiştir. Böylece çalışma, üretken yapay zekâ uygulamalarının müzik endüstrisinde dinleyici boyutunu görünür kılarak ses klonlama teknolojilerine yönelik hukuki ve etik düzenleme tartışmaları için ampirik bir zemin sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations

Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has introduced various innovations and debates within the creative industries, as it has in many other fields. In the music sector, generative AI (GAI) technologies have opened new avenues for both producers and listeners, providing novel experiences. One of the most notable developments in this regard is AI covers, which rely on voice cloning technology. GAI models can replicate an artist’s vocal style and musical characteristics. However, this emerging practice has sparked significant discussions, not only regarding copyright infringement but also concerning the violation of moral rights. This study aims to analyze the controversies surrounding AI covers, focusing not only on the production of such content but also on its consumption. The study employs thematic analysis to evaluate listener comments on the most popular Turkish AI covers available on YouTube. The findings reveal that, in addition to supportive reactions, listeners assess these works through the lens of ethical ambiguities, respect for the artist’s legacy, and copyright concerns. In this context, the study emphasizes that the future of GAI in the music industry should not be determined solely by technological advancements but must also take ethical and legal considerations into account. Using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach, the study codes the listener discussions under five highly engaged Turkish AI-cover videos and organizes them into seven themes, including copyright, ethical concerns, AI perception, artistic value, and supportive or critical reactions. The results indicate that audiences simultaneously celebrate AI covers as creative, nostalgic remix practices and problematize them as threats to artistic authenticity, consent, and fair remuneration. By foregrounding listener perspectives in a non-Anglophone context, the article offers empirical input to debates on participatory culture, musical deepfakes, and AI ethics in the music industry.

Keywords

References

Adams, Juliette. 2023. “The Wild West of AI-generated Music: What Rules Rule?.” Romano Law. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.romanolaw.com/ the-wild-west-of-ai-generated-music-what-rules-rule/
Alpyıldız, Eray. 2024. “Yapay Zekâ, Posthuman Folklor ve Müzik Teknolojisine Bir Bakış: Atatürk’ün Sesinden Türküler Dinlediniz.” Folklor Akademi Dergisi 7(1): 388–402. https://doi.org/10.55666/folklor.1423890.
APPG on Music. 2024. “Artificial Intelligence and the Music Industry: Master or Servant?” APPG on Music Report. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www. ukmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/APPG-AI-Report-Low-res. pdf
Arık, Sercan, Jitong Chen, Kainan Peng, Wei Ping, and Yanqi Zhou. 2018. “Neural Voice Cloning With a Few Samples.” In Proceedings of the 32nd Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS 2018): 10019–10029. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://dl.acm.org/doi/ pdf/10.5555/3327546.3327667
Baris, Antonios. 2024. “AI Covers: Legal Notes on Audio Mining and Voice Cloning.” Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 19 (7): 571–576. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpae029.
Benjamin, Walter. 2008. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin.
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77-101. https://doi. org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2013. Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners. London: SAGE Publications.

Brittain, Blake. 2024. “Music Labels’ AI Lawsuits Create Copyright Puzzle for Courts.” Reuters. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.reuters. com/legal/music-labels-ai-lawsuits-create-new-copyright-puzzle-us- courts-2024-08-03/
Bulayenko, Oleksandr, João Pedro Quintais, Daniel J. Gervais, and Joost Poort. 2022. “AI Music Outputs: Challenges to the Copyright Legal Framework.” ReCreating Europe Report. Accessed February 1, 2025. http://dx.doi. org/10.2139/ssrn.4072806
Capelouto, JD. 2023. “AI-Generated Music is Going Viral. But Is It legal?” Semafor. Accessed 1st Feb, 2025. https://www.semafor.com/article/04/18/2023/ is-ai-generated-music-legal
Chung, Wonjun. 2023. “Legal Issues of Generative AI Through the Case of AI Cover Songs.” Journal of Industrial Property 76: 455-494. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.earticle.net/Article/A439710
Directive (EU) 2019/790. 2019. Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market. EUR-Lex. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0790
Elgammal, Ahmed. 2019. “Arts Lab: AI is Blurring the Definition of Artist.” American Scientist 107(1): 18–21. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26586036
Fitzpatrick, Dan. 2025. “New Copyright Ruling Just Made AI Skills the Biggest Advantage.” Forbes. February 3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ danfitzpatrick/2025/02/03/new-copyright-ruling-just-made-ai-skills-the- biggest-advantage/
Floridi, Luciano and Josh Cowls. 2019. “A Unified Framework of Five Principles for AI in Society.” Harvard Data Science Review 1 (1). https://doi. org/10.1162/99608f92.8cd550d1
Floridi, Luciano and Josh Cowls. 2021. “The Design, Governance and Practice of AI for Social Good: A European Perspective.” Philosophy & Technology 34 (4): 1597–1623.
Fox, Mark, Ganesh Vaidyanathan, and Jennifer Breese. 2024. “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Musicians.” Issues in Information Systems 25 (3): 267- 276. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.48009/3_iis_2024_121
Gaffar, Hafiz and Saleh Albarashdi. 2024. “Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Works: Exploring Originality and Ownership in a Digital Landscape.” Asian Journal of International Law 1: 1–24. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://doi. org/10.1017/S2044251323000735
Gendron, Vaughn. 2024. “A New Frontier: The Music Industry’s Struggle Against Generative AI.” The University of Miami Business Law Review 33 (1): 161-191.
Gündoğdu, Buket and Semih Okcu. 2024. “Yapay Zekâ Uygulamalarının Müzik ve Müzik Endüstrisi Üzerine Etkileri.” Konservatoryum, Conservatorium CONS 11 (2): 545–558. Accessed 1st Feb, 2025. https://doi.org/10.26650/ CONS2024-1524963
Hessari, Hassan, Ali Bai, and Fatemeh Daneshmandi. 2024. “Generative AI: Boosting Adaptability and Reducing Workplace Overload.” Journal of Computer Information Systems. October: 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/08 874417.2024.2417672
Hugenholtz, Bernt, and João Pedro Quintais. 2021. “Copyright Protection for AI-Generated Works: Exploring Originality and Ownership in a Digital Landscape.” IIC International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law 16 (12): 1190–1216. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s40319-021-01115-0
IFPI. 2024. AI and Music: Key Facts. Market Development of AI in the Music Sector and Impact on Music Authors and Creators in Germany and France. Accessed
February 1, 2025. https://www.goldmedia.com/fileadmin/goldmedia/ Studie/2023/GEMA-SACEM_AI-and-Music/AI_and_Music_GEMA_ SACEM_Goldmedia.pdf
Jacques, Sabine, and Mathew Flynn. 2024. “Protecting Human Creativity in AI- Generated Music With the Introduction of an AI-Royalty Fund.” GRUR International 73 (12): 1137–1149. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://doi. org/10.1093/grurint/ikae134
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. 2013. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning In a Networked Culture. New York: NYU Press.
Jenkins, Henry. 2006. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press.
Jenkins, Henry. 2013. Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture (20th anniversary ed.). New York: Routledge.
Ji, Jingwen. 2023. “Copyright Infringement Risks in AI-Generated Cover Songs: An Analysis Based on Current Legislation.” In proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753- 7048/20/20231467
Jones, Daisy. 2023. “AI Cover Songs from Dead Musicians are Morbid, Exploitative, and Tacky as Hell.” GQ Magazine, August 21. https://www.gq-magazine. co.uk/article/dead-musiciains-ai-generated-songs
Kalpokas, Ignas. 2023. “Work of Art in the Age of Its AI Reproduction.” Philosophy & Social Criticism 51 (8): 1268-1286. Lim, Daryl. 2023. “Generative AI and Copyright: Principles, Priorities and Practicalities.” Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 18 (12): 841-842.
Magowan, Justine. 2023. “It’s Like I’ve Got This Music in My Mind: Protecting Human Authorship in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence.” UC Law Journal. 75 (1): 233-260.
Marongiu, Eugenio. 2024. “AI Can Make Up Songs Now, But Who Owns the Copyright? The Answer is Complicated.” The Conversation Accessed February 1, 2025. https://theconversation.com/ai-can-make-up-songs- now-but-who-owns-the-copyright-the-answer-is-complicated-229714
Masood, Momina, Mariam Nawaz, Khalid Mahmood Malik, Ali Javed. Aun Irtaza, and Hafiz Malik. 2022. “Deepfakes Generation and Detection: State- of-the-art, Open Challenges, Countermeasures, and Way Forward.” Applied Intelligence 53: 3974–4026.
McCarthy, John, Marvin L. Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude E. Shannon. 2006. “A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence.” AI Magazine 27 (4): 12.
McCoy, Julia. 2024. “OpenAI Voice Cloning: A Guide to the Future of AI Audio.” Workmind AI Blog. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://workmind.ai/blog/ openai-voice-cloning/
McHugh, Marry L. 2012. “Interrater Reliability: The Kappa Statistic.” Biochemia Medica 22 (3): 276–282.
McKinsey & Company. 2024. “What is Generative AI?.” Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/ what-is-generative-ai
MESAM. 2024. “MESAM, MSG ve MÜYAP Müzik Sektörünün Köklü Sorunlarının Çözümü Konusunda Ortak Hareket Etme Kararı Aldı.” Accessed February 1, 2025. https://mesam.org.tr/duyurular/mesam-msg-ve-muyap-muzik- sektorunun-koklu-sorunlarinin-cozumu-konusunda-ortak-hareket-etme- karari-aldi
Micchi, Gianluca, Louis Bigo, Mathieu Giraud, Richard Groult, and Florence Levé. 2021. “I Keep Counting: An Experiment in Human/AI Co-creative Songwriting.” Transactions of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (TISMIR). 4 (1): 263-275.
Napolitano, Domenico. 2020. “The Cultural Origins of Voice Cloning.” In proceedings of the Eighth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X (xCoAx 2020). Porto: Universidade de Porto Press: 59–73.
Nass, Clifford, and Youngme Moon. 2000. “Machines and Mindlessness: Social Responses to Computers.” Journal of Social Issues 56: 81-103.
Neekhara, Paarth, Shehzeen Hussain, Shlomo Dubnov, Farinaz Koushanfar, and Julian McAuley. 2021. “Expressive Neural Voice Cloning.” In proceedings of the 13th Asian Conference on Machine Learning, in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research. 157: 252-267. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://proceedings.mlr.press/v157/neekhara21a.html
Notaro, Anna. 2020. “State of the Art: A.I. Through the (Artificial) Artist’s Eye.” In proceedings of EVA London 2020. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www. scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.58
Nowell, Lorelli, Jill Norris, Deborah White, and Nancy Moules. 2017. “Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet Trustworthiness Criteria.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16 (1): 1–13.
Oğul, Sertaç. 2024. “Etik Kurallara Uygun: Sorumlu Yapay Zeka ve Müzik Endüstrisi.” Reflektif Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 5 (1):139-49.
Ooi, Keng Boon, Garry Wei Han Tan, Mostafa Al-Emran, Mohammed A. Al-Sharafi, Alexandru Capatina, et al. 2025. “The Potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence Across Disciplines: Perspectives and Future Directions.” Journal of Computer Information Systems 65 (1): 76–107.
Rabinovich, Misha, and Caitlin Foley. 2025. “The Work of Art in the Age of AI Reproducibility.” AI & Society 40: 1565–1567.
Resnikoff, Paul. 2024. “UMG, WMG, Sony Music File Litigation Against AI Music Services Suno and Udio for Massive Copyright Infringement.” Digital Music News. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.digitalmusicnews. com/2024/06/24/umg-wmg-sony-litigation-ai-music-suno-udio
Rutherfold, Nichola. 2023. “Drake and The Weeknd AI song pulled from Spotify and Apple.” BBC.com. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/ news/entertainment-arts-65309313
Sharma, Preeti, Manoj Kumar, Hitesh Kumar Sharma, and Soly Mathew Biju. 2024. “Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): Introduction, Taxonomy, Variants, Limitations, and Applications.” Multimed Tools Appl 83: 88811– 88858.
Stahl, Bernd Carsten, A Andreou, Philip Brey, Tally Hatzakis, et al. 2021. “Artificial Intelligence for Human Flourishing – Beyond Principles for Machine Learning.” Journal of Business Research 124: 374-388.
Study on the Economic Impact of Generative AI in the Music and Audiovisual Industries. 2024, CISAC Communications. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.observatoire-culture.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ SG24-0865_Study_on_the_economic_impact_of_Generative_AI_in_Music_and_Audiovisual_industries_Complete_Study_2024-12-03_EN_ compressed.pdf
Sturm, Bob L., Oded Ben-Tal, Úna Monaghan, Nick Collins, Dorien Herremans, Elaine Chew, Gaëtan Hadjeres, Emmanuel Deruty, and François Pachet. 2018. “Machine Learning Research That Matters for Music Creation: A Case Study.” Journal of New Music Research 48 (1): 36–55.
Tucker, Olivia. 2024. “Make AI Cover with AI Song Cover Generator Now!.” UnicTool. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.unictool.com/text-to- speech/ai-song-cover-generator/?srsltid=AfmBOoodFLx8BI0OnUEvszto O1LQE0-7oKFO7LUO_THAlMdXQgmjYOBv
Ulusal Yapay Zekâ Stratejisi [2021-2025] 2025. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi Başkanlığı ve Sanayi ve Teknoloji Bakanlığı. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://cbddo.gov.tr/uyzs
Ünal, Erdem. 2023. “Üretken Yapay Zeka Çağı ve Chat GPT.” Bilim Teknik Eylül 2023: 56-64.
UNESCO. 2021. Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381137
Widodo, Wahyu, and Herman Bakir. 2024. “AI-generated Music Copyright Issues: Legal and Ethical Analysis.” Journal of Intellectual Property 14 (2): 103–114.
Yıldırım Köse, Mutlu, and Göksü Ayçıl Altınok. 2025. “Yapay Zekâ ve Müzik Sektörü.” Gün+Partners. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://gun.av.tr/tr/ goruslerimiz/makaleler/yapay-zeka-ve-muzik-sektoru-1
Zhuk, Alesia. 2024. “Navigating the Legal Landscape of AI Copyright: A Comparative Analysis of EU, US, and Chinese Approaches.” AI Ethics 4: 1299–1306.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Communication Technology and Digital Media Studies , Internet Publishing , Social Media Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Recep Ünal
0000-0001-6181-6255
Türkiye

Ahmet Taylan ^*
0000-0003-3258-2108
Türkiye

Publication Date

December 5, 2025

Submission Date

May 2, 2025

Acceptance Date

October 28, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 12 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.24955/ilef.1687789

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA28WD46HL

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Ünal, R., & Taylan, A. (2025). AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi, 12(2), 216-254. https://doi.org/10.24955/ilef.1687789

AMA

1.Ünal R, Taylan A. AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi. 2025;12(2):216-254. doi:10.24955/ilef.1687789

Chicago

Ünal, Recep, and Ahmet Taylan. 2025. “AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations”. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi 12 (2): 216-54. https://doi.org/10.24955/ilef.1687789.

EndNote

Ünal R, Taylan A (December 1, 2025) AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi 12 2 216–254.

IEEE

[1]R. Ünal and A. Taylan, “AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations”, Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 216–254, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.24955/ilef.1687789.

ISNAD

Ünal, Recep - Taylan, Ahmet. “AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations”. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi 12/2 (December 1, 2025): 216-254. https://doi.org/10.24955/ilef.1687789.

JAMA

1.Ünal R, Taylan A. AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi. 2025;12:216–254.

MLA

Ünal, Recep, and Ahmet Taylan. “AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations”. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi, vol. 12, no. 2, Dec. 2025, pp. 216-54, doi:10.24955/ilef.1687789.

Vancouver

1.Recep Ünal, Ahmet Taylan. AI Covers: Listener Perspectives on a Controversial Production Model Between Technology, Copyright and Ethical Violations. Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi. 2025 Dec. 1;12(2):216-54. doi:10.24955/ilef.1687789