'AI is moving faster than the rules that protect creators': CISAC unveils 2026 Annual Report
CISAC has released its 2026 Annual Report, detailing a year of "intensified global advocacy, policy engagement and progress" across the organisation's data infrastructure.
The report outlines how CISAC and its network of authors' societies responded to accelerating AI and copyright debates, while advancing creator remuneration campaigns and strengthening data and rights management infrastructure.
It also highlights its continued advocacy relating to private copying remuneration, audiovisual creators’ rights and Artist’s Resale Right frameworks.
“Artificial intelligence is moving faster than the rules that protect creators,” said ABBA co-founder and CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus. “The rules governing human creativity are being written now. If transparency and fair remuneration are not built into AI systems from the start, creators everywhere will face the consequences.”
Gadi Oron, CISAC director general, added: “Today, the responsibility in protecting human creation has never been greater, because the forces threatening it have never been more profound. The next century will not be defined by technology alone, but by our resolve to ensure that human creativity remains at its heart.”
As we enter the age of AI, creators rightly expect the organisations representing them to keep pace
Dean Ormston, APRA AMCOS/CISAC
In 2025-2026, CISAC engaged in AI policy discussions across international, regional and national markets, including work at WIPO and UNESCO, implementation of the EU AI Act, and legislative consultations in countries including the UK, Australia, India, Chile and South Korea.
Alongside its policy work, CISAC continued advancing CIS-Net 2, a major transformation of its global data infrastructure, while further strengthening the ISWC system for the accurate identification of works and creators.
If transparency and fair remuneration are not built into AI systems from the start, creators everywhere will face the consequences
Björn Ulvaeus, CISAC
“The power of the collective has never been more important,” added Dean Ormston, APRA AMCOS CEO and chair of the CISAC Board. “As we enter the age of AI, creators rightly expect the organisations representing them to keep pace.”
CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) has 227 member societies in 111 countries, representing over four million creators of music, audio-visual, drama, literature, and visual arts.
The report is released ahead of the organisation's landmark centenary General Assembly taking place in Paris on June 4. The event, which will focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on human creativity, creator remuneration, and the role of copyright and cultural policy in protecting creators, marks 100 years since CISAC’s founding in Paris in 1926.
Alongside a keynote speech from Ulvaeus, newly confirmed speakers include composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre, Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier, film composer Simon Franglen, Reservoir MD and IMPF President Annette Barrett and SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber. Economist Will Page and Lord Kevin Brennan will also feature in the lineup.
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