Singer-songwriter Khalil Fong has recently passed away at the age of 41 due to illness. His music brand Music赋能 has jointly issued an official statement with the estate management, responding to the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence technology. The statement clearly asserts that they will fully retain all rights and prohibit unauthorized use to safeguard Khalil Fong's musical legacy.
The statement indicates that the prohibition encompasses all recorded works, songwriting, audiovisual recordings of Fang Datong, as well as his name, likeness, and other forms of materials. Any activities related to machine learning, data development, and involving AI systems and large language models fall strictly within the prohibited scope.
In addition, the statement references EU legal directives and Hong Kong's Copyright Regulations, emphasizing the retention of all rights to the fullest extent permitted by law. This rights retention policy also applies to existing and future works, regardless of whether they have been made public.
The music and heritage management team has stated that if any third party wishes to use the name, likeness, or voice of Fang Datong for purposes related to AI technology or machine learning, they must first seek permission from the music or heritage management team. The management team reserves the right to deny authorization and determine the terms of use.
The management mentioned that Khalil Fong has always been passionate about music, and even during his battle with illness, he continued to create tirelessly. He once expressed that In this day and age, everyone's pretty open to listening to AI sing, so I think it won’t bother anyone to hear a patient sing either. wishes to honor his creative passion by preserving his purest sound.
In recent years, AI technology has begun to impact the global music scene, with AI-generated images, sounds, and photos that are nearly indistinguishable from original works, posing a serious threat to the hard work of creators. In October 2024, over 13,500 artists from bands such as ABBA, The Cure, and Radiohead signed a statement warning that the unauthorized use of creative works to train generative AI could significantly threaten the livelihoods of creators.
In February 2025, over 1,000 musicians in the UK, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, and Annie Lennox, released silent albums in protest against the UK government’s amendments to copyright legislation. This change allows AI companies to use copyrighted materials without permission to train their models.
A recent ruling by a U.S. court stated that works generated by AI do not have copyright protection, emphasizing that copyright laws exist to safeguard human creativity, while works created entirely by AI are not covered under these protections.
