Screen Composers to Launch Human Made Campaign

The initiative advocates for copyright protections against the unauthorized use of creative works in AI training.

Updated on Oct. 25, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Isometric editorial illustration showing a conductor's baton resting on a geometric digital lattice, representing creative rights in the AI era. — The Australian Guild of Screen Composers will launch the Human Made campaign on October 28, 2026, to demand AI copyright protections. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should artists be compensated when their copyrighted creative work is used to train artificial intelligence models?

The Australian Guild of Screen Composers will launch the Human Made campaign on 28 October 2026 during the Screen Music Awards in Brisbane. Led by Antony Partos, the movement calls for a formal license system to compensate artists when their works are utilised to train artificial intelligence models.

Why it matters

The campaign seeks to prevent multinational technology companies from profiting from creative works without permission while safeguarding the careers of emerging Australian composers. It coincides with federal government efforts to reform copyright frameworks regarding artificial intelligence development.

The campaign supports a new opt-in license system to manage data usage and royalty payments for music creators. This framework aims to regulate how creative assets contribute to the development of artificial intelligence models.

The players

Antony Partos

He is a prominent composer leading the Human Made campaign and holds four award nominations.

Australian Guild of Screen Composers

The professional organisation representing the interests of screen music creators in Australia.

APRA AMCOS

An organisation that administers music licensing and royalty payments for creators across the country.

The details

Composers and industry representatives will signal their support by wearing record-shaped badges featuring the copyright symbol at the awards ceremony. APRA AMCOS is expected to play a central role in managing the proposed licensing and royalty distributions for the sector.

28 October 2026: The Screen Music Awards ceremony occurs in Brisbane.
2024-25: Australian film and television drama production expenditure was recorded at $2.7 billion.

The Tech Race

This initiative attempts to codify legal protections within the Australian copyright framework to address the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence. It mirrors global efforts to force technology companies to provide compensation for the creative datasets used in model training.

The proposed license system could change how composers receive royalties from digital platforms and AI developers. This shift aims to ensure that Australian musicians are financially recognised when their professional work is utilised in technical training environments.

The takeaway

The Human Made campaign reflects a growing demand for transparency and compensation as machine learning consumes human creativity. Composers looking to protect their work can participate by engaging with industry representative groups as the national policy discussion evolves.