Musicians Rally for AI Safeguards Amid Studio Merger Fears

Musicians vs. Machines: AFM Rallies for AI Safeguards as Industry Fears Grow

The American Federation of Musicians takes on the AMPTP to secure streaming residuals and labor protections against AI-generated content.

Marcus J. Delany

Mar 7, 2026, 1:43 AM PT · 2 min read

AFM President Tino Gagliardi leads a rally for AI safeguards in Sherman Oaks, California.

THE RUNDOWN

AFM members rallied on January 22 for AI protections and streaming residuals.
Union President Tino Gagliardi is negotiating a new contract with the AMPTP.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merger talks sparked fears of major job cuts.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Stephen Thaler’s AI copyright appeal.
Legal rulings currently mandate human authorship for all copyrightable creative works.

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) previously turned up the volume on labor demands. Hundreds of union members gathered at a rally on January 22, 2024, outside the Sherman Oaks headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Led by AFM International President Tino Gagliardi, the union ratified a contract that established AI safeguards and fair streaming residuals for professional musicians working in film and television.

Labor anxiety is compounded by recent corporate movement at the top of the industry. The announced merger agreement in which Paramount is acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion has sparked fears of massive job redundancies. While the studios look to consolidate power to compete with Netflix and Disney, creative workers worry that corporate streamlining will lead to significant workforce reductions in scoring and production departments.

The legal landscape is also shifting in favor of human artists. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal from computer scientist Stephen Thaler, effectively upholding a lower court ruling that AI-generated artwork is not eligible for copyright protection. This decision reinforces the legal principle that human authorship is a requirement for copyright, providing a vital precedent for the AFM as they fight to protect human-led scores from being replaced by automated technology.