AI Music Rights & Licensing: Building the Permission Layer (with Grimes, Apple & Blockchain in the Mix)

What happens when AI can create infinite music but artists can't track infinite uses?

In this panel, Abbi Press, Global Lead of Business Affairs at Uber and lifelong musician, hosts a deep dive into AI in the music industry, from copyright and consent to metadata and money. She’s joined by Daouda Leonard (CreateSafe) who pioneered Grimes' voice-cloning experiment, Dae Bogan (The MLC) envisioning "infinite licensing," Marc Rucker (SoundExchange) defending artist autonomy, and Tushar Apte (Warner Chappell) navigating AI's creative reality, four experts building the systems behind AI music rights management.

Together they unpack the idea of a “permission layer” for AI music: how consent, attribution, and payments can be enforced at scale, and where blockchain and automated licensing fit in. They unpack the $75K studio dilemma dividing creators, why opt-out frameworks fail artists, how Apple secretly solved infinite licensing, and whether blockchain can bridge the gap. From Grimes learning she hates her AI offspring to AI hitting Billboard's charts—this is the conversation shaping who gets paid when machines make music.

Resources at thedoublehelix.substack.com

Chapters:

[00:00:00] Opening: Setting the Permission Layer My piano origin story and why this matters now

[00:07:04] The Grimes Experiment Daouda on open-sourcing fame and digital freedom

[00:12:55] Lyricists vs. Singers: The New Divide The $75K studio problem splitting music's creative class

[00:27:30] Weekend Warriors vs. Professionals Two music industries that barely intersect

[00:34:46] Infinite Licensing: Blockchain Meets AI Automated rights management without human negotiation

[00:41:32] Apple's DJ Mixes: The Hidden Blueprint How infinite licensing already exists

[00:48:38] The Authenticity Timeline From electric guitars to AI Billboard charts

[00:54:10] Concluding Thoughts on Music and Technology

Perfect for artists, producers, rights holders, and anyone trying to make sense of how AI will reshape the music business.

The Double Helix: Making compliance your creative advantageGet full access to The Double Helix at thedoublehelix.substack.com/subscribe

Producer Tushar Apte (4B+ streams, BTS, Benson Boone, Demi Lovato) shares insights from testing every major AI music tool over 2+ years. His verdict: while AI excels at removing production grunt work, human taste—that ineffable sense of what works culturally and emotionally right now—remains irreplaceable.

Key Topics:

[00:01:09] Why "you cannot generate taste"

[00:03:15] AI turns producers back into curators (the Rick Rubin model)

[00:06:03] D'Angelo as the gold standard of un-generatable artistry

[00:24:30] Where AI actually works: ideation, variation, background music

[00:37:30] Why this gives creators hope, not fear

[00:38:43] The Jungian snake dream: stop running from AI, turn and face it

Guest: Tushar Apte (@springloaded on Instagram)

Next: Join our live panel "Permission-First Music for AI" on Nov 12, 9am PT with Tushar, Daouda Leonard (CreateSafe/Grimes), Dae Bogan (The MLC), and Marc Rucker. Register: abbipress.com

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The Double Helix: Making compliance your creative advantage

Composing the Double Helix: The Podcast ThemeAbbi Press shares the studio story behind The Double Helix theme—two melodies in contrary motion with a tiny offset (the “rungs”), plucked piano (human) × arpeggiator (machine), Moog-warmth underneath. A crash-and-reopen revealed a piano-roll spiral that looks like DNA. We talk about why sonic identity matters (see The Daily / Song Exploder), and how work on Uber’s Olympics campaign reinforced the power of a memorable contour. Hear the 30-sec loop and grab the stems/MIDI to study or remix.

Chapters00:00 Intro — why write a theme00:44 Sonic identity (The Daily / Song Exploder)01:20 Uber Olympics sonic ID (edit-bay moment)02:05 Building blocks: arp, plucks, Moog, grid offset03:00 Crash → motif: MIDI looks like DNA03:38 What’s next + stems/MIDI CTA

Credits & ToolsMusic by Abbi Press · DAW: Ableton Live 11 · Instruments: plucked piano, arpeggiator, Moog-ish bass · Extras: keyboard-as-hi-hats, light pad.

Comment HELIX on for stems + MIDI. Share your remix and tag The Double Helix.

Double Take: From Portola’s VIP Fence to AI’s Velvet Rope

In this Double Take episode of The Double Helix, Abbi Press explores how the rise of VIP culture at festivals mirrors the fences being built around AI tools.

She shares her experience at Portola — from the thrill of being shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers at the front, to finding the same spot fenced off for VIPs a few hours later. That shift, from communal energy to tiered exclusivity, sparks a bigger question: is AI following the same path?

Through vivid anecdotes and industry insights, Abbi draws parallels between live music and the future of digital tools — asking whether these fences are grifts, survival strategies, or both.

00:00 Introduction to the Double Helix

00:35 A Weekend at Portola Festival

01:35 The Rise of VIP Culture

03:16 AI and the New Digital Divide

05:53 Three Types of Connection

07:36 AI's Attempt to Simulate Human Connection

08:29 The Paradox of VIP and AI

09:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Read the full essay here: thedoublehelix.substack.com/doubletake-portola-ai-velvet-rope

Get full access to The Double Helix at thedoublehelix.substack.com/subscribe

Warner Bros. Discovery is suing Midjourney for unauthorized use of Superman, Batman, and Scooby-Doo. But the case is bigger than one superhero — it’s a showdown between Hollywood and AI, and it raises a key question: what happens when Superman’s copyright runs out?

We explore what this case means for copyright and trademark protections in the age of generative AI — and why it matters for creators, brands, and the future of storytelling.

In this episode of The Double Helix, Abbi Press breaks down:

* Why Superman’s 1938 comics won’t enter the public domain until 2034

* The difference between copyright (expires) and trademark (lasts indefinitely)

* How Disney’s handling of Steamboat Willie shows what’s coming

* Why AI isn’t just a speeding bullet — it’s copyright kryptonite

Bottom line: copyright has a timer, but trademarks don’t — and in the AI era, that difference matters more than ever.

Chapters

00:00 Superman’s Legal Battle with AI

00:21 Welcome to The Double Helix

01:10 The Copyright Conundrum

02:09 Understanding Copyright vs. Trademark

03:05 Case Study: Mickey Mouse

03:33 The Impact of AI on IP

03:53 Final Thoughts + Call to Action

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The Double Helix kicks off with a special panel: “AI at the Crossroads: Creativity, Compliance, and Business Affairs” Hosted by Abbi Press (Global Lead Business Affairs Manager at Uber & independent musician), this conversation brings together leaders at the intersection of creativity, compliance, and emerging technology.

Speakers:

Dustin Callif — President, Tool of North America

Anastasia Arten — Associate Creative Director, Art Director, Amazon

Scott Terry  — Director of Business Affairs, Forsman & Bodenfors New York

Abbi Press — Global Lead Business Affairs Manager, Creative, Uber

In this episode:

- How AI is transforming creative workflows

- Why Business Affairs is uniquely positioned to lead in the AI era

- Balancing speed, compliance, and human creativity

- What “integrity” means when machines join the process

✨ Subscribe to The Double Helix for more conversations at the intersection of creativity and compliance.