Britain is set to relax its copyright laws, allowing tech firms to train artificial intelligence models on any material they have lawful access to. This move has sparked outrage among musicians, who argue that it would reverse the principle of copyright law and grant exclusive control to creators for their work.
Over 1,000 artists, including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, released a silent album titled “Is This What We Want?” to protest the changes. The album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, symbolizing what they say is the potential impact on artists’ livelihoods if the proposals go ahead.
The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material they have lawful access to, requiring creators to proactively opt out to stop their work from being used. This move has been heavily criticized by many artists, who claim it would undermine the creative industry and leave them with no control over how their work is used.
Musicians such as Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Stephen Fry, Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos, and The Clash have signed a letter warning the government about the proposals. They argue that the current copyright system is crucial for the industry’s success and that the changes would be disastrous.
The UK government claims that the current copyright and AI regime is holding back the creative industries from realizing their full potential. However, artists like Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices, disagree, stating that the proposal would hand the life’s work of musicians to AI companies for free, allowing them to exploit their work and outcompete them.
The public consultation on the proposed changes closes later this week. The government has yet to announce any decisions, but it is expected to set out its plans in due course.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/musicians-release-silent-album-protest-uks-ai-copyright-changes-2025-02-25