Orfium Awarded Funding To Research Copyright Detection in AI-Generated Music

Music and tech rights company Orfium has been awarded a grant from the European Commission to lead a research project into how to detect and attribute the use of copyrighted works in AI-generated music.

The details:

• The funding is part of a €7.5 million project, named AIXPERT, by the EU’s Horizon Europe program under the Explainable and Robust AI initiative.

• It aims to improve transparency and accountability in AI systems across sectors.

• Orfium will work as part of a pan-European consortium to develop AI technologies that can explain their decision-making process.

• It aims to create AI systems that are transparent, traceable, and inclusive by design.

• The three-year project officially began on 1 June, 2025.

Music industry benefit:

• Orfium is the only member of the consortium leading the application of this technology in the music industry, using explainable models to identify when and how AI-generated music incorporates elements of existing human-made compositions.

• Detecting these instances is the first step in enabling accurate attribution and compensation for original songwriters, composers, and rightsholders.

• The project could pave the way for AI-era copyright regulation, licensing and monetization standards that protect songwriters, composers and publishers in the future.

What they said:

• Rob Wells, CEO, Orfium: “This project is hugely significant for the music industry and fits closely with our mission to apply AI for the good of the sector. As generative AI reshapes the entertainment landscape, we are building the infrastructure to ensure creators remain at the center of that evolution. To be selected by the European Commission is a strong validation of Orfium’s position at the forefront of innovation in music rights management. It aligns with our commitment to leverage AI to tackle the entertainment industry's most complex challenges.”