MBW Views is a series of op-eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say. The following MBW op/ed comes from Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak, founder and chairwoman of UAE-based music Music Nation Copyrights Management (MusicNation).
The company received formal approval from the UAE‘s Ministry of Economy and Tourism to license, collect, and distribute public performance and neighboring rights in June 2025, and began operations in October.
The UAE-based music rights organization recently became the first signatory from the Middle East to the Human Artistry Campaign. Here, MusicNation’s founder argues that a nation racing ahead on AI carries a duty to protect the artistry, voices and creativity that make culture possible.
The United Arab Emirates has never viewed the future as something to wait for. We have always approached it as something to build.
That spirit is visible across our country in the way the UAE invests not only in artificial intelligence, advanced technology and digital transformation, but also in the cultural institutions and creative experiences that define how people understand and engage with our nation.
It can be seen in Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a global destination for art, entertainment and cultural exchange, from Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Saadiyat Cultural District to the recently announced Disneyland Abu Dhabi theme park resort on Yas Island. These developments are not separate stories. Together, they reflect a national belief that innovation and culture are both essential to progress.
This is why MusicNation today joined the Human Artistry Campaign, becoming the first signatory from the Middle East. For us, this is a natural extension of the UAE’s broader ambition to advance technology in ways that move humankind forward, while ensuring artists, creators and cultural communities are respected, protected and valued.
The UAE has been one of the world’s most forward-looking countries in its approach to artificial intelligence. In 2017, we became the first country to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. Through the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, the country set a clear ambition to become a global leader by investing in people, industries, infrastructure and responsible governance.
That ambition is not limited to technology. The UAE has also made the cultural and creative industries a national priority, with a strategy designed to grow the sector’s contribution to 5 percent of national GDP by 2031, strengthen the country’s place on the global cultural map, and attract creative talent and entrepreneurs from around the world.
The connection between these two ambitions is important. A country that seeks to lead in AI must also lead in protecting human creativity. A country that is a growing cultural center must build systems that allow artists, songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, labels and other rights holders to participate fully and fairly in the value their work creates.
This is especially true in music.
Music is one of the most universal forms of human expression. It carries memory, identity, language, emotion and heritage. It connects people across generations and geographies. It strengthens tourism, enriches public spaces and helps define how people experience a place.
In the UAE, music is increasingly part of a larger cultural and economic story. Our nation is building institutions and destinations that invite the world to experience art, heritage, entertainment and creativity here. Those ambitions create a responsibility to ensure our creative infrastructure is strong and positioned for growth.
As technology evolves, that responsibility only becomes more urgent. AI has extraordinary potential. It can help creators work in new ways, open access to tools that were once out of reach, and support innovation across music, film, design, gaming, media, and education.
We welcome that progress, but it cannot be at the expense of the unauthorized use of human creativity. It cannot treat songs, voices, performances, images, likenesses, stories, and cultural works as raw material without consent, transparency, or fair compensation.
Responsible AI must be built on trust. It should respect intellectual property. It should recognize that human artistry is not an obstacle to innovation, but the foundation from which innovation draws inspiration.
That is the principle behind the Human Artistry Campaign, which brings together organizations across the creative and technology communities to support AI that respects human expression, protects creators’ rights, and ensures that artists and rights holders retain control over the use of their work, voice, image, and likeness. MusicNation is proud to join this global effort.
For MusicNation, this commitment is closely connected to our mission in the UAE. I founded MusicNation to help build a transparent, globally connected music rights ecosystem rooted in this country. Our role is to license music use, collect royalties, and distribute them fairly to creators and rights holders. In doing so, we help ensure that music can move through the economy legally, transparently, and sustainably.
This matters for creators, who deserve to be compensated when their work is used. It matters for businesses, which need clarity and confidence in the music they use. And it matters for the UAE, because a truly mature creative economy requires more than inspiring cultural destinations, it depends on robust systems that protect and monetize creative work.
The UAE’s approach to culture has always balanced heritage and ambition. Our museums, cultural districts and creative institutions reflect a country that understands culture not as decoration, but as dialogue.
“Responsible AI must be built on trust. It should respect intellectual property. It should recognize that human artistry is not an obstacle to innovation, but the foundation from which innovation draws inspiration.”
AI should be part of that dialogue. It should help culture travel further, reach new audiences and create new forms of expression. But it should not replace the people whose creativity makes culture possible.
As a regional and global center for culture, the protection of creative rights must be part of that leadership. Responsible AI must be measured not only by what technology can generate, but by whether it respects the human beings whose work, voices and identities trained, inspired and shaped those systems.
MusicNation’s participation in the Human Artistry Campaign demonstrates our commitment to a more equitable and forward-looking model of innovation.
We believe AI and human creativity thrive together. We believe technology companies and creators can build responsible licensing models. We believe clear rules, transparency and consent will encourage stronger innovation. And we believe the UAE has an opportunity to help define what that balance looks like for our region and the world.
The future of culture will now be shaped by technology, but it must still be rooted in humanity. Human artistry is both a legacy to protect and a source of future value.
As the UAE continues to build its role as the center for AI, culture, tourism and creative enterprise, MusicNation will continue working to ensure music rights are protected, creators are fairly compensated, and businesses have a clear path to using music responsibly.
Protecting human artistry is how we ensure the next chapter of innovation remains worthy of the people it is meant to serve.Music Business Worldwide
