Over 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, released a silent album on Tuesday to protest proposed changes to the UK’s copyright laws that could allow technology companies to use their work to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The changes, part of the UK’s push to become an AI superpower under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, would relax the current laws that protect creators’ rights to control how their works are used. Under the new proposals, AI developers would be permitted to train their models on any material they legally have access to, and creators would need to actively opt out to prevent their work from being used.
The move has sparked outrage among artists who argue that it would undermine the core principle of copyright law, which grants creators exclusive control over their works. Many musicians fear that this could have a devastating impact on their livelihoods, as AI could potentially generate content similar to their own without compensating them.
Kate Bush, whose 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill” experienced a resurgence in 2022 due to the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” voiced her concerns by asking, “In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?”
The silent album, titled Is This What We Want?, includes recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, symbolizing the potential void artists may face in a future where their works are used by AI without their consent or compensation.
The public consultation on the proposed copyright changes closed on Tuesday. In response, a government spokesperson argued that the current copyright and AI system is limiting the potential of creative industries and the media sector. The spokesperson emphasized that the government had engaged with the relevant sectors and would continue to do so, adding that no final decisions had been made, and the full details of the proposals would be shared later.
Other prominent musicians such as Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos, and The Clash have also expressed opposition to the changes. Ed Newton-Rex, founder of the non-profit Fairly Trained, which advocates for fairer training data practices in generative AI, argued that the proposed laws would allow AI companies to freely exploit musicians’ work, potentially outcompeting them.
“The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus,” said Newton-Rex.
