David Guetta’s 2023 live use of an AI-generated Eminem-style voice does not prove that voice cloning is “totally legal.” The account describes a performance, not a court ruling, and U.S. protections for digital replicas remain uneven. Whether a particular use is lawful depends on the jurisdiction, how the replica was made and shared, and which rights or agreements apply.
What happened when David Guetta played the AI-generated voice?
New Atlas reported on February 12, 2023, that Guetta used one AI site to draft lyrics in Eminem’s style and another to recreate the rapper’s voice, then played the resulting snippet during a live performance. The outlet attributed to Guetta a statement that he would not release the clip commercially. The account describes a fabricated Eminem-style voice, not an official Eminem recording or endorsement.
Those details are what the outlet reported; they do not establish how the voice model was trained, whether any copyrighted recording was used, or whether the performance complied with every applicable law or agreement. A stated intention not to sell the clip does not by itself settle whether a live use creates legal responsibility.
Why the 2023 “totally legal” framing is not a current legal ruling
The New Atlas headline’s suggestion that the act seemed lawful was a journalistic characterization published in 2023. It was not a court judgment or an authoritative legal determination. The U.S. Copyright Office’s later analysis describes gaps and inconsistencies in protections for digital replicas, which makes a blanket conclusion about this incident unwarranted.
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In its July 31, 2024, report on digital replicas, the Copyright Office said existing laws had gaps and recommended that Congress enact federal protection against the knowing distribution of unauthorized digital replicas. The report describes a patchwork: some states lack publicity or privacy rights; some laws do not cover voices, or limit protection to distinct, well-known, or commercially valuable voices; and state publicity laws commonly focus on advertising, merchandise, or other commercial purposes. This landscape does not supply a single nationwide answer to every voice-cloning scenario.
What factors can change the legal analysis?
A real answer requires more than asking whether the voice was generated with AI. Relevant questions include where the use occurred, what was copied or simulated, how the material was presented, and whether it was distributed or used commercially. The available official analysis does not resolve each of these questions for Guetta’s performance.
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- Jurisdiction: Laws governing publicity, privacy, and digital replicas vary. A rule that applies in one state or country may not apply elsewhere.
- Purpose and presentation: A live performance, an advertisement, merchandise, and a commercially released track are different contexts. The legal significance depends on the applicable law and the facts; calling something noncommercial does not automatically make it lawful.
- What the system used: A simulated voice does not, by itself, show that a copyrighted master recording was sampled. The 2023 account does not establish the model’s training provenance or settle the law governing its use.
- How it was shared: The Copyright Office’s recommendation specifically concerns knowing distribution of unauthorized digital replicas. That is a distinct question from whether a particular live performance was authorized.
- Rights and agreements: Rights in a person’s identity or voice, copyright in a recording or composition, contracts, and event or platform rules are separate issues. One answer does not automatically decide the others.
Is an AI-generated voice itself copyrighted?
That is a separate question from whether imitating a person’s voice is allowed. In a January 29, 2025, announcement about copyrightability, Register of Copyrights and Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter said: “Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection. Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine, however, would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”
The statement concerns whether human creativity expressed with AI can receive copyright protection, and whether machine-determined expressive elements should. It does not determine whether a voice imitation violates publicity or privacy rights, breaches a contract, or creates another legal claim.
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What is the status of the NO FAKES Act?
The Copyright Office’s legislative developments index lists H.R. 8915 and S. 4591, the NO FAKES Act of 2026, as introduced on May 20, 2026, under proposals in the 119th Congress. The cited entry does not list the bill as enacted. That is the status shown in the checked official record as of October 5, 2026; legislative status can change.
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Sources
- New Atlas, February 12, 2023: report on Guetta’s AI-generated Eminem-style vocal.
- U.S. Copyright Office: AI report index.
- U.S. Copyright Office, Part 1: Digital Replicas report, July 31, 2024.
- U.S. Copyright Office: legislative developments index.
- U.S. Copyright Office, January 29, 2025: report announcement on copyrightability and AI.
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