MusicFutures: Performers' Rights, Personality, and AI

About this opportunity

As part of the AHRC MusicFutures Creative Cluster programme at the University of Liverpool, this fully funded full-time PhD studentship will work with the MusicFutures research team and alongside the programme’s 27 industry delivery partners to explore the legal and policy challenges facing performers in the evolving digital music ecosystem. The project will examine how current performers’ rights frameworks respond to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic media, and will investigate how performers’ identity, voice, artistic persona, and related data, can be better recognised and protected within UK law. Through engagement with musicians, industry stakeholders, and technology actors, the research will contribute to the development of innovative and sustainable legal approaches to supporting performers and protecting creative identity within the UK music sector.

Applications are invited for a fully-funded PhD studentship to conduct research on a full-time basis exploring the protection of the performer through a personality rights’ approach. The research would be conducted under the joint supervision of Dr Sabine Jacques, at MusicFutures, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool and Dr Georgia Jenkins, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool.

The successful candidate will be registered for their PhD at the University of Liverpool and will contribute to the activities of the MusicFutures Clinic and Lab. As part of this work, the candidate will develop an interactive tool mapping the legal protection of voice, likeness, and performers’ identity across key jurisdictions. This resource will support musicians, creative practitioners, and industry stakeholders in navigating the evolving legal landscape surrounding performers’ rights, personality rights, and emerging technologies such as AI-generated performances. The tool will also serve as a platform for amplifying and disseminating insights drawn from the empirical research conducted throughout the PhD, ensuring that the lived experiences and perspectives of performers gathered during the project are communicated to a wider audience across the music industry, policy, and research communities.

Introduction and background

Performers’ rights in the United Kingdom are primarily protected under Part II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA). These rights are classified as neighbouring rights, protecting performers against the unauthorised recording, broadcasting, and exploitation of their performances. However, the legal protection largely centres on the fixation of performances, rather than the performance itself as an expression of the performer’s personality and identity.

This fixation-based model reflects the structure of international copyright law, particularly the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, which historically prioritised control over recordings and broadcasts. More recently, the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (which the UK has not ratified) has expanded certain economic and moral rights for performers, yet the legal framework remains grounded in the protection of recorded performances rather than the embodied personality of the performer.

In contrast, legal systems influenced by civil law traditions also introduced personality rights, which protect attributes such as identity, reputation, and persona. These rights acknowledge that artistic performance is not merely a mechanical act but a creative and personal expression of the performer’s identity. They also receive additional protection through the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and within national constitutions.

This research proposes that the current UK framework inadequately protects performers because it treats performances primarily as exploitable recordings rather than as manifestations of personal identity and artistic expression, linked to concerns over creativity and cultural production more broadly. It argues that incorporating personality-based protection into performers’ rights could provide a more coherent legal framework for protecting live and embodied performances.

The rapid development of generative AI has intensified concerns about the adequacy of existing performers’ rights frameworks. Contemporary AI systems are capable of generating synthetic vocals, musical interpretations, and stylistic performances that closely resemble identifiable performers without reproducing a specific recording. Because performers’ rights in the UK are primarily structured around the protection of fixed performances under the CDPA, such AI-generated outputs often fall outside the scope of existing legal protection. This raises significant challenges for performers whose artistic identity (such as voice, interpretation, and stylistic expression) can be replicated by algorithmic systems without consent or remuneration. The issue is particularly acute for grassroots and independent musicians, whose careers often depend on the distinctiveness of their performance identity rather than on large catalogues of commercially exploited recordings. In this context, re-examining performers’ rights through the lens of personality protection may offer a more appropriate legal framework for addressing the appropriation of performers’ identities in the emerging AI-driven creative economy, while supporting the sustainability of artistic careers for the next generation of music makers.

Across jurisdictions, legal approaches to protecting the identity of performers vary considerably, reflecting different traditions in the protection of personality. In many civil law systems, personality rights provide individuals with legal protection over attributes closely linked to personal identity, including voice, image, and reputation. These rights recognise creative expression as an extension of the individual’s personality and may offer performers a broader basis for challenging unauthorised exploitation of their likeness or artistic persona. By contrast, in some common law jurisdictions protection has developed through the doctrine of publicity rights, which focuses on the commercial value of a person’s identity and grants individuals control over the commercial use of their name, likeness, or other identifying characteristics. While these frameworks differ in their theoretical foundations (one grounded in dignity and personal autonomy, the other in economic exploitation) they both acknowledge that elements of personal identity can possess legal significance beyond the protection afforded by copyright or neighbouring rights. Examining these international approaches provides an important comparative perspective for evaluating whether UK could evolve to recognise the personality interests embodied in performance, particularly in an era where digital technologies and AI systems increasingly reproduce identifiable aspects of performers’ artistic identity.

Research Aim

The project aims to evaluate whether UK performers’ rights should be reformed to protect the performance as an expression of the performer’s personality, rather than focusing primarily on the fixation of the performance.

More specifically, the aims of this PhD research are:

• To examine whether the fixation-based framework of performers’ rights in the UK adequately protects the personal and expressive interests embodied in performance; and
• To develop a framework for reform that recognises and protects performers’ personality interests, particularly in the context of digital reproduction, related data, and AI-generated performances.
• To achieve these aims, the project has three main objectives:
  1. To conduct a doctrinal analysis of performers’ rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, alongside relevant international instruments in order to assess how the current legal framework conceptualises and protects performance.
  2. To gather empirical evidence through qualitative interviews with performers, musicians, industry professionals, and legal experts in order to understand how performers experience and perceive the protection of their performance identity, particularly in relation to digital technologies and AI-generated creative outputs.
  3. To undertake comparative and policy analysis of personality rights and publicity rights frameworks in other jurisdictions, and to evaluate how insights from these systems (together with empirical findings) could inform reform of UK performers’ rights.
  4. To undertake comparative analysis of personality rights and publicity rights regimes in other jurisdictions and evaluate how these approaches could inform the reform of UK performers’ rights in the age of digital reproduction and AI-generated performances.

Research questions:

Research questions include:

• How does the current fixation-based framework of performers’ rights shape the protection of performers’ identity, voice, and artistic expression?
• How do performers experience the protection (or lack of protection) of their performance identity in digital environments, including streaming platforms, social media, and AI-generated creative systems?
• To what extent do factors such as genre, career stage, independence from major labels, and technological literacy influence performers’ perceptions of control over their voice, style, and performance persona?
• To what extent do existing legal frameworks in the United Kingdom recognise the personality interests embodied in performance? How do legal practitioners, industry professionals, and policymakers conceptualise performers’ identity and creative labour in this context?
• To what extent does the collection, profiling and automated processing of ‘performance data’ (e.g. voiceprints, movement, and behavioural metrics on platforms) reshape performers’ control over, and visibility of, their identity and creative labour under UK data protection automated decision-making rules.
• How might developments in artificial intelligence, synthetic media, and digital voice replication challenge the adequacy of the current performers’ rights framework?

Methodology

To answer these questions, the following methods are proposed and comprise two interconnected branches:

1) Empirical element exploring the lived realities of performers in the digital and AI-driven music ecosystem:

• Conducting semi-structured interviews with performers, including grassroots musicians, independent artists, and early-career music makers, in order to explore their experiences of performance identity, authorship, and control over their voice and style.
• Interviewing industry stakeholders including music producers, managers, collecting society representatives, music technology developers, and intellectual property lawyers.
• Analysing publicly available industry materials, platform policies, and emerging disputes relating to AI-generated music, voice cloning, and digital performance replication.
• Observing industry discussions, workshops, and conferences relating to AI, music technology, and intellectual property governance.

2) Evaluation of the legal, policy, and doctrinal frameworks governing performers’ rights:

• Doctrinal analysis of performers’ rights under the CDPA and other related legislation, alongside relevant international instruments.
• Comparative analysis of personality rights and publicity rights regimes in other jurisdictions and their relevance to the protection of performers’ identity.
• Literature review of scholarship on performers’ rights, personality theory in intellectual property, and the legal challenges posed by AI-generated creative works.

Original contribution and significance

This project offers an original contribution to intellectual property scholarship by reconceptualising performers’ rights through the lens of personality protection. First, it advances a conceptual contribution by developing a new theoretical account of performers’ rights grounded in personality theory, positioning performance as an expression of the performer’s identity rather than merely an object capable of fixation and commercial exploitation. Secondly, the research provides a doctrinal contribution by critically analysing the existing fixation-based framework of UK performers’ rights under the CDPA, demonstrating how the current legal structure inadequately captures the embodied and expressive nature of performance. Finally, the project makes a policy contribution by proposing a model for reform that would enable UK law to recognise and protect the personality interests embodied in performance. By reframing performers’ rights as a form of personality protection, the research bridges the conceptual gap between neighbouring rights and broader theories of identity, artistic expression, and creative labour, offering a framework that is better suited to contemporary challenges such as digital reproduction and AI-generated performances.

Commencement and Duration of the PhD

The PhD will commence in October 2026 and will be undertaken on a full-time basis (3 years of research followed by a year of thesis write up).

About MusicFutures

MusicFutures is an AHRC funded programme hosted by the University of Liverpool. It brings together academics and creative industry partners to deliver a programme of equality focused/inclusive research and design (R&D) led innovation and business development for the Liverpool City Region. Operating out of a hub at the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, MusicFutures fosters collaboration with a variety of partners to generate sector insights and career pathways for increasing diversity and representation for existing and future artists and music professionals. This environment will empower small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs to innovate, attract investment, scale up, and adopt inclusive and sustainable practices. Through diverse cross-sector programmes, MusicFutures fuels growth, drive environmental innovation, and champion inclusivity. MusicFutures will elevate both the region’s and the UK’s competitiveness in the global music market.

MusicFutures scoping of the Liverpool City Region music sector has highlighted the growing challenges facing performers and music creators in navigating the rapidly evolving digital and technological landscape of the music industry. In particular, developments in artificial intelligence, synthetic media, and digital platforms are raising new questions about the protection of performers’ identity, voice, and artistic expression. While existing legal frameworks provide certain protections for recorded performances, there is increasing concern that current models do not adequately address the appropriation or replication of performers’ creative identity in emerging digital environments. This studentship will investigate how performers’ rights operate in practice within the contemporary music ecosystem and explore how legal and policy frameworks might evolve to better protect performers’ personality interests. The project will engage with musicians, industry stakeholders, and technology actors to inform and support the development of more sustainable and equitable approaches to protecting creative identity within the UK music sector.

Positive Action

Data shows that Women, Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority students are currently under-represented on the School of Law and Social Justice doctoral programmes and within the wider Music industry. We strongly encourage applicants from these groups and will use the Positive Action provision (Equality Act 2010) on selection decisions between candidates of equal merit.

Further queries can be directed to Sabine Jacques: sabine.jacques@liverpool.ac.uk 

 

 

Who is this for?

Applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

• Applicants should have a strong undergraduate degree in law, music, or a relevant social science discipline (such as sociology, anthropology, media studies, cultural studies, or social policy). Candidates with backgrounds in intellectual property law, music industry studies, creative industries, digital media, technology policy, or cultural policy are particularly encouraged to apply. An interest in the relationship between creativity, identity, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence would be advantageous.
• Obtained at least a 2:1 or equivalent (for international applicants) in their undergraduate degree.
• For a student to qualify for a 3-year full-time studentship, the student must have completed a Master’s degree in a related field with some training or insight into qualitative methods and ethics.
• Experience working with artists, musicians, creative communities, or cultural organisations, or with public engagement in the arts and creative industries, is desirable.
• The successful candidate will need to demonstrate strong communication and collaborative skills, and an ability to work flexibly with a range of stakeholders, including performers, creative practitioners, industry professionals, and policy actors, while adapting to evolving developments in the music and technology sectors.

Funding your PhD

Funded students, whether UK or international, will be eligible for an award which includes a stipend to support living costs.

The holder of the award will be expected to reside in the Liverpool City Region and participate in the research culture of MusicFutures, and the School of Law and Social Justice. The School of Law and Social Justice actively engages with the University of Liverpool’s commitment to diversity and equality, including Athena Swan (gender equality) and Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter.

The MusicFutures studentship comes with an expected commitment of research assistance work across relevant MusicFutures workstreams and engagement with the delivery team at the ACC offices. The main supervisor will be Dr Sabine Jacques, IP and AI Policy Lead at MusicFutures.

Studentship holders are also to take a full role in their department(s) and the School more broadly, including attending staff meetings as required, participating in research activities, and undertaking training as necessary. All research students are encouraged to gain a qualification in teaching in Higher Education during their studies and will likely be offered relevant teaching opportunities.

Contact us

Have a question about this research opportunity or studying a PhD with us? Please get in touch with us, using the contact details below, and we’ll be happy to assist you.