Patreon CEO: AI ‘Fair Use’ is Bogus, Pay Creators

During the SXSW conference in Austin this week, Patreon CEO Jack Conte declared that AI companies must compensate independent artists, calling their “fair use” arguments for free training data “bogus” given their lucrative licensing deals with major media conglomerates.

The Double Standard in AI Training Data

Speaking from what he styled as a manifesto during his presentation, Conte pointed out a glaring contradiction in how artificial intelligence developers source their data. While these tech firms publicly argue that utilizing copyrighted works to train machine learning models constitutes fair use, they simultaneously negotiate multi-million dollar licensing agreements with massive rights holders.

“It’s bogus because while they claim it’s fair to use the work of creators as training data, they do multimillion-dollar deals with rights holders and publishers like Disney and Condé Nast and Vox and Warner Music,” Conte stated. He argued that if the legal foundation for fair use were truly ironclad, these tech corporations would have no reason to pay major publishers at all.

“If it’s legal to just use it, why pay?” Conte asked. He questioned why hundreds of billions of dollars in enterprise value are being built on the backs of millions of unpaid illustrators, musicians, and writers, while only massive corporate entities receive payouts.

Navigating the New Wave of Digital Disruption

As the co-founder of a platform representing hundreds of thousands of creators, Conte positioned the rise of generative AI as the latest wave in a long history of technological disruptions. He compared the current shift to previous industry upheavals, such as the transition from iTunes downloads to music streaming, or the pivot to vertical video formats popularized by TikTok.

While acknowledging that AI will inevitably dismantle many established business models built by creative professionals, Conte remains optimistic about the resilience of artists. Drawing on his own experience as a musician who founded Patreon to solve monetization struggles, he emphasized that adaptation is survival.

“I learned a very important thing as an artist, which is that change does not mean death. You can get back up, and you can fucking go again,” Conte shared, reinforcing his stance that he is not anti-technology or anti-progress.

Why Valuing Human Artistry Matters for the Future

Conte clarified that his criticism does not stem from a fear of change, but rather from a desire to shape a sustainable future for the creative economy. He expressed excitement about the potential of technology, but insisted that society must actively protect and incentivize its artists as AI becomes deeply integrated into daily life.

“The AI companies should pay creators for our work, not because the tech is bad — but because a lot of it is good, or it will be soon — and it’s going to be the future,” Conte asserted. He added that societies prioritizing and rewarding human creativity ultimately yield richer cultural landscapes.

Concluding his talk on a hopeful note, the CEO highlighted the fundamental difference between predictive algorithms and human expression. While large language models (LLMs) excel at predicting and replicating existing patterns, human creators offer something irreplaceable. “Great artists don’t play back what already exists,” Conte said. “They stand on the shoulders of giants. They push culture forward.”