Over 1,000 musicians have joined forces to record a silent album in protest against proposed changes to copyright law regarding artificial intelligence (AI).
The musicians including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Blur's Damon Albarn, have warned the UK Government that these proposals, which would allow AI models to be more easily trained on copyrighted material, would cause severe damage to the creative industry, and see artists rendered obsolete in the future.
This licence would also see tech firms able to use this material, and creators would need to opt out to prevent their work being used. Opposition to these proposals have warned that if artists are not compensated for AI recreating and copying their work, it would lead to a decrease in creativity, with this opt out option putting a burden on artists.
These proposals have also been criticised by household names like Paul McCartney, who warned that they could "rip off" artists. More on that here.
McCartney's comments were also echoed by Elton John. More on this here.
As a protest against these proposals, musicians have come together to release an album titled, Is This What We Want?.
The album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, which they have claimed that these proposals would mean for the music business, should they go ahead. It has been co written by Billy Ocean, Jamiroquai, The Clash, Imogen Heap, along with a number of composers, conductors, and producers, as well as a myriad of Oscar, Grammy and Brit Award winners.
The track listing also spells out the following message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies".
It was also confirmed that all profits would be donated to the musicians' charity, Help Musicians.
"The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians’ work to outcompete them", organiser Ed Newton-Rex, said of the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary. The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus".
"This album shows that, however the government tries to justify it, musicians themselves are united in their thorough condemnation of this ill-thought-through plan".
The sector are also speaking out against AI models who are training using data from the public internet, including news and other publishing websites.
The chief executive of the Publishers Association, the trade organisation representing book, journal and electronic publishers in the UK, Dan Conway, had this to say.
"The extraordinary strength of support shown in recent weeks for copyright and our world-class creative industries is something the Government ignores at its peril", he said. "When Booker, Grammy, Oscar and Nobel prize winners are united in calling on the Government for a fair hearing, we have to hope they listen".
"Publishing is a growth industry supporting tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs nationwide", he continued. "We already contribute £11 billion to the UK economy and are central to creative industries’ growth and UK research and development and are early adopters of AI technology to equip the readers and learners of the future".
"The message to government is clear: the great copyright heist cannot go unchallenged. Big Tech needs to pay for the creative and research content they hoover up to train AI, just as they pay for their electricity and other normal costs of running a legally compliant business".
"We urgently need transparency regulations to lift the lid on AI usage to ensure that the huge opportunities that AI can bring are realised in a way that incentivises growth across the whole economy and is safe and ethical for those who use it".
"The UK is a content superpower and its creative industries, educational institutions and academic research are the envy of the world", Conway added. "Establishing fair trading practices and encouraging partnership with, rather than subservience to, Big Tech is the way we lift all the boats and deliver for the UK".
