In Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger is a streetwise pickpocket working as part of a London criminal gang.
Composer Antony Partos created the soundtrack to the Disney+ TV series of the same name, and he believes there's a much bigger heist underway.
The co-founder of Sydney studio Sonar Music says advertising companies have asked his firm to recreate music generated by artificial intelligence for use in television commercials.
"We presented this track to the client, they liked it, they've signed off on it, you need to copy it for us," Partos told AAP.
He won't reveal the names of the companies involved, but says they are big brands including fast food outlets and streaming platforms.
Partos is one of Australia's most awarded film composers whose credits also include Poker Face, Mystery Road and Total Control.
He's worried composers are being asked to legitimise AI soundtracks generated from the illegal harvesting of copyright material.
"I feel utterly appalled and dismayed that it's come to this ... it's unconscionable behaviour as far as I'm concerned."
Australian Guild of Screen Composers vice president Cornel Wilczek is the man behind the music for hit horror flicks Bring Her Back and Talk To Me, and Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar.
In 2025, he shut down his Melbourne studio Electric Dreams and let seven staff go, after advertising gigs all but dried up.
These days Wilczek runs a solo operation and employs freelancers, concentrating on film and television scores.
"I would say the majority of calls last year were, 'Can you fix our AI generated tracks [so they sound] a bit more human?' Wilczek told AAP.
AI music program Suno had taken off, and the post-pandemic economy meant shrinking advertising budgets.
"They'd literally call us and say, 'Hey, we've got a little problem ... Suno didn't do a great job,' as if that was OK to chat to a composer. It was unbelievable."
The concerns raised by screen composers deserve serious consideration, Australian AI Industry Group chairman Michael LeVene said.
Being asked to recreate AI music to give the appearance of human authorship raises serious questions about transparency, attribution, and professional integrity, he said in a statement.
"AI presents significant opportunities for the creative industries, but innovation should not come at the expense of existing intellectual property rights or the people whose work makes that innovation possible."
A joint parliamentary committee examining AI, including the use of Australian creative output in the training of AI models, will report by the end of November.
The inquiry has been told the use of creative work without permission or compensation represents an existential threat to the nation's creative sector.
Wilczek increasingly sees AI music being used not only in advertising but also television and low budget short films.
He's worried it wouldn't take much for AI to generate entire feature film scores based on his existing work, such as Talk To Me.
"I'm just very nervous about what they already would have access to, which is quite alarming."
At the annual APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards to be held on Wednesday, Partos is nominated for four gongs, including Best Music for a Television Drama for The Artful Dodger.
