UNESCO Report: AI Could Slash Artist Incomes by Nearly a Quarter by 2028

When Maria Santos landed her first sync deal for an independent film last year, she thought she had finally broken through. The $3,000 payment represented months of work composing an original score. What she didn’t anticipate was how quickly AI-generated music would flood the market, driving down the value of human-created work across the entire industry.

Santos’s story is becoming increasingly common. According to a comprehensive new report from UNESCO released this week, the creative economy is facing an existential threat from generative AI that policymakers have been slow to address.

“The current era represents a critical moment for the creative economy. Without renewed investment, fairer market conditions and stronger international cooperation, creators risk being further marginalised as technologies evolve.” — Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director-General

The Numbers Are Stark

The latest edition of Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity, UNESCO’s flagship monitoring report covering more than 120 countries, delivers sobering projections. Music creators could see their revenues fall by 24 percent by 2028, while those working in the audiovisual sector may lose 21 percent of their income due to the expanding presence of AI-generated content in global markets.

These aren’t abstract statistics—they represent real livelihoods. The report stresses that these disruptions are occurring at a pace that outstrips current policy responses, exacerbating inequalities and threatening the livelihoods of millions of cultural workers worldwide.

Creators are experiencing heightened exposure to intellectual property violations and diminishing returns on their work as AI-generated outputs enter the marketplace. The shift toward digital production and consumption has created new opportunities but also intensified economic uncertainty.

The Creative Digital Divide

Persistent global inequities further compound these challenges. While 67 percent of people in developed countries possess essential digital skills, the figure drops to just 28 percent in developing countries. This digital divide is contributing to widening disparities among creators, particularly those operating in the Global South.

Platform dominance presents another layer of complexity. Major streaming platforms operate with opaque algorithms that hinder content visibility, making it increasingly difficult for independent artists to reach audiences without significant marketing budgets or corporate backing.

Policy gaps are perhaps the most concerning aspect. The report outlines more than 8,100 existing policy measures but finds them insufficient for the current moment. Current frameworks weren’t designed for a world where machines can generate music, images, and video at scale.

“These disruptions are occurring at a pace that outstrips current policy responses, exacerbating inequalities and threatening the livelihoods of millions of cultural workers.” — UNESCO Report

What Comes Next

UNESCO is calling for urgent, coordinated action to protect creators’ rights, strengthen regulatory frameworks, and reinforce the cultural sector’s contribution to sustainable development. The agency urges governments to mobilize cultural policy as a strategic priority.

The stakes extend beyond individual artists. The report emphasizes that creativity serves as a driver of social cohesion, economic opportunity, and cultural diversity. Allowing these systems to collapse would have ripple effects far beyond the creative industries.

For artists like Santos, the question isn’t whether AI will continue to transform the industry—it’s whether policymakers can move fast enough to ensure human creators aren’t left behind. The UNESCO report makes clear that window is closing rapidly.

This article was reported by the ArtificialDaily editorial team. For more information, visit UN News.