Algorithmic Music Generation and Nigerian Cultural Identity: Ethical and Aesthetic Implications of AI in Local Music Production

This research investigates the ethical and aesthetic implications of algorithmic music generation and artificial intelligence tools for Nigerian music production, examining how AI-generated content intersects with questions of cultural identity, artistic authorship, and the economic rights of indigenous music tradition holders. AI music generation tools are increasingly accessible to producers globally, including in Nigeria, but their application to culturally specific music presents unresolved questions about the replication of indigenous musical styles without community consent, the dilution of culturally specific aesthetic knowledge, and the economic displacement of traditional musicians. This study employs a multi-method design including: philosophical ethical analysis of AI-generated music through African communal authorship theory; empirical analysis of AI-generated music trained on Nigerian musical datasets using technical aesthetic evaluation by expert musicians; focus groups with 30 Nigerian music producers and traditional musicians regarding ethical acceptability; and semi-structured interviews with intellectual property lawyers and government cultural policy officials. Original AI music generation experiments using publicly available generative tools trained on documented Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa musical styles are conducted and subjected to comparative cultural authenticity assessments. The study develops an original ethical framework for AI music generation sensitive to African communal intellectual property norms. Keywords: AI music generation, cultural identity, algorithmic composition, music ethics, Nigerian music.