In Search of Provenance: Ownership, Attribution, and Artistic Control in the AI Era

Andrew Melchior, Joe Sparrow, Andrew Zammit (Mod.)

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the conditions under which music and art are created. While generative AI opens up new creative possibilities, it also raises fundamental questions about authorship, ownership, and artistic control. Who owns data, creative works, and artistic styles? How can the origins of creative content be traced? And what tools do artists and rights holders need to protect their work in an increasingly AI-powered cultural and media landscape?

This talk explores how creatives can respond to these technological developments without losing control over their work or their livelihoods. What role might new approaches to the provenance and authentication of digital content play? What forms of protection are currently emerging? At the same time, the discussion asks a broader question: where should the limits of AI in creative practice lie, and what forms of acceptance does the cultural sector wish to develop?

These questions will be discussed by musician, label owner, and lecturer Andrew Zammit, provenance expert Andrew Melchior, and journalist and editor Joe Sparrow.

Andrew Melchior has spent many years working at the intersection of music, technology, and immersive storytelling. As an artist and producer, he has developed projects for collaborators including Björk, Massive Attack, IBM, and the Jewish Culture Festival Kraków. Today, his work focuses in particular on the provenance and authenticity of digital creative content.

Joe Sparrow is a journalist, author, and editor at Music Ally. His work focuses on developments across the international music industry, with particular attention to music business, marketing, and technological innovation. Through his writing and analysis, he has long documented the industry’s transformation and examined the impact of new technologies on artists, labels, and audiences.

Andy Zammit is a Berlin-based music business expert, label founder, musician and lecturer. Active in the international music industry for more than 20 years, he began his career as a drummer and tour manager before moving into label management, artist management and higher education. He is Head of the Music Business degree programme at BIMM University Berlin, where his teaching combines strategic thinking with hands-on industry experience, always with a focus on creative independence, self-determination and a deep understanding of the music business.