Composer Fabian Kratzer, winner of the Jerry Goldsmith Award and nominee for the Deutscher Filmmusikpreis, takes part in the Filmmusiktage of Saxony-Anhalt to analyze how artificial intelligence transforms film music. In a workshop, ten teenagers compose the soundtrack for a scene from Jukli, a children’s film planned for 2027, while the industry debates authorship and rights.
Algorithms that compose and rights that don’t arrive š¼
Kratzer points out that generative AI can take on small commissions, those initial jobs that allow new composers to enter the industry. He also warns about the lack of copyright protection when systems are trained on third-party material without a license. The technical debate focuses on how to trace the authorship of a work created by algorithms and on demanding clear rules before the market consolidates without oversight.
AI composes, but doesn’t collect royalties š¤
While the industry argues over whether an algorithm deserves credit, AI keeps producing soundtracks without asking for a raise or complaining about the director. That said, when it comes to distributing rights, no one knows where to send the invoice. Soundtrack concerts are growing and reaffirming the human origin of music, although some suspect that the next Jerry Goldsmith Award could go to a graphics card with a lot of style.
