Silent Protest: UK Musicians Release Album to Fight AI Copyright Proposals

I streamed the totally silent AI protest album on Spotify - and if you don't like AI stealing the voices of music icons, I think you should too

What do you get when you put Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and Damon Albarn into a room? A silent, ambient music protest album, of course. On Tuesday February 25, over 1000 artists banded together in a moving protest against a UK government proposal that would allow AI developers to use copy-righted music from creative professionals to train algorithms and other AI models such as ChatGPT and Open AI - unless right holders choose to opt-out. Just when I thought the UK government couldn't get more whack, lo and behold, it just did. The protest album, titled Is This What We Want? is now available to stream on platforms like Spotify and Tidal. It is a 12-song project consisting of ambient sound recordings from inside empty recording studios and other performance spaces, intending to shed light on the possible impact the proposal will have on creative livelihoods and the UK music industry. It's believed that one of the songs was recorded at Kate Bush's studio, and she didn't hold back with providing comment on the matter, asking; "in the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?". The icon has spoken. Is This What We Want? is just one of the many concerned reactions to the new proposal that has since sparked the wider Make It Fair campaign, acting as a means of protest, raising public awareness, and tackling legalized content theft. Since the inception of the campaign, it has enlisted the support of several more figures within British music including Ed Sheeran, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, and Billy Ocean, as well as creative professionals outside of the music industry. Some of these names include film and stage producer Barbara Broccoli and national treasure Stephen Fry. Fry, like Kate Bush, has expressed his concerns: "You don't promote growth in a garden by allowing all the pests to feast on the fruit and flowers, and you don't promote growth in an economy by allowing all the AIs to feast on the fruits of our creators". It's difficult for me to write this, but it feels like we are witnessing a cultural genocide in the UK, where the looters and destroyers of artists' works are not human. They are, however, being aided by humans. Silent albums and I have a bit of a tumultuous relationship (if you've listened to Ethel Cain's most recent LP, you'll know what I'm talking about), but after streaming Is This What We Want? on Spotify, I've found a whole new appreciation for the art of the ambient album. Turns out, they're not just there to help you fall asleep at night. It goes without saying that the first thing that jumps out when listening to Is This What We Want? is the album's hollowness and static-like frequencies that, when put into the context of the government's proposal, paint a rather harrowing picture of the music industry's future. Especially if you have a set of the best earbuds or even better a good set of headphones (I use the Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones), the album does a solid job of bringing the most otherwise-mundane sounds to the surface, be that the soft meow of a studio cat, the slow dragging of a chair across the floor, or the deep sigh of someone sat at a desk in clear disappointment. One of the better parts of the protest album is that it doubles as a fundraising opportunity, so from wherever you choose to stream Is This What We Want? profits will be donated to the charity Help Musicians, even though Spotify's reputation for artist royalties speaks for itself. It gives a whole new definition to the saying 'silence speaks volumes'.

A musical supergroup fights AI -- with a silent protest album

Is This What We Want? is an unusual protest album. It has been released by 1,000 UK Artists, a colossal supergroup comprising more than 1,000 UK artists (and some non-British ones). Participants include Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Hans Zimmer. They are fighting the UK government's proposal to alter copyright law in order to help tech companies train generative AI programmes. The project has been organised by Ed Newton-Rex, a dissident AI music entrepreneur. Its target is data-mining by AI models as they learn how to make music. 1,000 UK Artists claim that their rights will be trampled if the government proceeds with its plans. Each of the 12 tracks has a one-word title, together forming an acrostic alert: "The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies". We steel ourselves for the angry strumming of multiple guitars as Bush and Albarn wail, and Zimmer furiously waves his conductor's baton as if swatting wasps. But what we encounter instead is silence. Or rather, near silence. Each track lasts about four minutes and contains no vocals or instruments. The obvious inspiration is "4'33", John Cage's note-free composition. Indeed, it might seem a bit rich of 1,000 UK Artists to complain about their rights being abrogated while glomming onto Cage's inspired exercise in ambient sound. But there is a crucial difference. "4'33" is meant to be performed in concert halls where the intended silence is broken by the faint sounds of musicians and the audience failing to keep quiet. Here, however, the focus switches from the act of performance to the act of recording. Electronic hums are heard in each track, subtly different in pitch. Buttons are pressed, doors clang, footsteps thump. Drinks are swallowed, a breath is exhaled. We are conscious of the muffled outlines of people in a setting devoted to capturing sound. The absence of voices and instruments makes it easier to picture mixing desks, consoles and microphones, the apparatus of the studio. Technological change is vital to recorded music. It has often provoked pushback, not always presciently: drummers were wrong to fear the spread of drum machines in the 1980s. But something has gone awry in the intertwined relationship of music and technology. New anxieties about AI join long-standing complaints about lowly streaming revenue. This silent protest album says a lot.

Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Others Contribute to Silent Album to Fight AI Proposals

The album, Is This What We Want?, is released in protest as the British government weighs changes to copyright and AI policies. The release of a new album, Is This What We Want? - which features silent contributions from musicians including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox - is drawing attention to proposed changes to UK copyright law in regards to AI. The protest album, organized by musician and AI entrepreneur Ed Newton-Rex, is made up of 12 tracks that include more than 47 minutes of silence recorded in empty studios and other spaces by more than 1,000 contributors. The titles of the tracks combined say, "The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies." The album, along with a previous statement released months ago by nearly 50,000 more creatives and artists, is aligned against proposed UK changes that would allow companies to train AI models on fair use as well as copyrighted content unless copyright owners specifically opt out of giving permission. The UK government on Feb. 25 was holding a public consultation on the rule changes, which have drawn public criticism from figures including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dua Lipa and Paul McCartney. Companies such as Chat GPT maker OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Apple, all require vast amounts of data to train their large-language data models. The information can include everything from newspaper digital archives to digitized books to social media accounts. At issue in the UK now is whether AI models can be trained not just on publicly available data and academic research, but on copyrighted music and text (such as lyrics) as well. Under the changes that are being proposed, companies and individuals who hold copyrights for songs or other items would need to opt out to prevent companies from training AI with their works. Read more: The New Beatles Video: How AI Is Helping and Hindering the Music Industry Alina Trapova, a British legal scholar and lecturer who has been closely following the debate, says the proposed changes "go beyond music," but the music industry has been well-organized in bringing attention to the issue. The opt-out feature of the proposal, Trapova said, "may result in leaving right-holders without any control of their work. This is because the opt-out mechanisms that exist nowadays can be and are being circumvented." Artists may also be unaware that they must opt out. Trapova says that an opt-in mechanism, which would require rights holders to explicitly give permission, has been suggested. "Whatever the government goes ahead with, it has to follow some sort of a standardized process which ideally will coincide with what the other big jurisdictions do on that front," she said. The EU has already passed similar measures as part of last year's AI Act, but is in the process of refining the way cases are handled to improve transparency and rights reservations, she said. "There is an ongoing debate about the efficacy and burden of opt-out models," said Chris Mammen, a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson who specializes in tech and AI law. "On the issue of privacy and consumer data protection, the US is widely described as following an opt-out model while Europe, with the GDPR, follows an opt-in model." For this set of changes specifically, Mammen said, "The fear of musicians and other content creators is that AI models trained on their work will be able to generate free or cheap new works, at an industrial/supercomputer scale, that will box them out of earning income from their content-creating activities." Mammen added, "There may still be some guardrails imposed by the AI platforms - for example, by prohibiting prompts that ask for an output 'in the style of' a specific living artist. But one can easily imagine designing AI prompts to circumvent that type of specific guardrails."

Musicians Release Silent Album In Protest Of AI Plans

LONDON (AP) -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair."

Musicians release silent album to protest UK AI copyright proposals

The protest, aimed at the government's controversial proposals to change copyright laws, highlights concerns that AI developers would be able to mine creators' work to help develop their models unless rights holders "opt out." The silent album, featuring the sounds of empty studios and performance spaces, is designed to be a symbol of the impact these changes could have on musicians' livelihoods. The tracklist boldly spells out: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." Backing the release are notable artists like Billy Ocean, Ed O'Brien from Radiohead, and Bastille's Dan Smith. All profits from the album will go to the charity Help Musicians. Kate Bush, one of the leading voices in the protest, expressed her concerns, saying: "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" She and other artists worry that the law changes could undermine the value of creators' work, leaving them unable to track or prevent its use by AI. The UK government's consultation on the proposals ends Tuesday (25 February). Critics argue that the system could disadvantage artists, especially emerging ones, by making it impractical to monitor or control how their content is used online. Composer Max Richter, another artist involved in the album, highlighted that the proposed plans would not only affect musicians but also "impoverish creators" across all fields. Ed Newton-Rex, who organised the silent album release, called the proposals "totally unnecessary," stressing that the UK can lead in AI innovation without jeopardising its creative industries. "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," he said in a statement on the album release. "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." Industry body UK Music said in its most recent report that the music U.K. scene contributed £7.6 billion (€9.16 billion) to the country's economy, underscoring the importance of protecting these sectors from potential exploitation. The full list of musicians taking part can be viewed at Is This What We Want?'s official website.

Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and a slew of other stars are on this silent album. Here's why

A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including the Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair."

1,000 musicians release a silent album in protest of U.K.'s proposed AI copyright law changes

More than 1,000 musicians, including Annie Lennox, Hans Zimmer and Kate Bush, released a silent album on Tuesday to protest proposed changes to U.K.'s copyright law.Getty Images A group of musicians is hoping the sound of their collective silence speaks volumes to lawmakers in the U.K. More than 1,000 artists -- including Kate Bush, Imogen Heap, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Hans Zimmer -- released a silent album titled "Is This What We Want?" on Tuesday in response to the U.K. government's proposed changes to a copyright law. They argue that changes to the law, proposed late last year, would "allow artificial intelligence companies to build their products using other people's copyrighted work -- music, artworks, text, and more" without a license, according to a website for the album. "The musicians on this album came together to protest this." The album's track list spells out a sentence: "The British Government Must Not Legalize Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies." "It's an album of recordings of empty studios & performance spaces, representing the effect the govt's plans would have on musicians' livelihoods," Ed Newton-Rex, a composer who was among those who organized the album, wrote in a post on X. The album is the latest action from creatives over growing concerns that AI could encroach on their works. While it focuses on British law, concerns over AI's impact on artists' livelihood have been widespread. Laws regulating AI are sparse, and because generative AI, which can create media from songs to images, is so accessible, many creatives have raised ethical and legal questions over tech companies training their programs on artists' works. The album's release came on the closing day of the British government's public consultation on changing the copyright laws. In December, the left-leaning Labour Party announced that it would begin consulting on AI and shifting copyright laws with the intent of becoming a world leader in AI technology. As it is currently proposed, the law would allow artists to opt-out of being used for AI learning. On Tuesday, newspapers in the U.K. ran identical messages titled "Make it fair," which called for protecting creative industries from AI. Some shared side-by-sides of the British newspaper covers on X. In a statement to The Associated Press, the British government said it was "consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive." It added that "no decisions have been taken." There have been efforts to combat the legislative changes prior to the album's release, including from a group called the Creative Rights in AI Coalition. The group says companies should seek permission first to train AI on artists' works. This would put the responsibility on the companies seeking to use AI rather than on artists having to opt out. "Protecting copyright and building a dynamic licensing market for the use of creative content in building generative AI (GAI) isn't just a question of fairness: it's the only way that both sectors will flourish and grow," the coalition wrote on its website. In a letter to the Times published Tuesday, 34 artists, including some featured on the album, called for "protecting U.K.'s creative copyright against AI." The new proposal is "wholly unnecessary and counterproductive," and jeopardizes not only the U.K.'s international position as "a beacon of creativity but also the resulting jobs, economic contribution and soft power -- and especially harming new and young artists who represent our nation's future," the artists wrote. Signees include Bush, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Elton John and Sting. Bush, who is known for hit songs like "Running Up That Hill," shared a music video for the album on her website. The 1-minute-and-25-second video features footage of empty recording studios, with the names of the album's tracks in a bold white font above the video. "The U.K. is full of pioneering, highly creative and imaginative artists." Bush wrote on her website. "The government's willingness to agree to these copyright changes shows how much our work is undervalued and that there is no protection for one of this country's most important assets: music. Each track on this album features a deserted recording studio. Doesn't that silence say it all?" She added that she's "very happy to have contributed a track to this project and to join the protest" and asked for the public's support in protecting "the music makers and our heartfelt work." "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?"

Over 1,000 musicians release silent album to protest AI copyright changes

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. What just happened? More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and the Eurythmics' Annie Lennox, have released a silent album in protest against proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws. The new rules could allow companies to use artists' work to train their AI models without permission. The album, called Is This What We Want?, features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces. Organizers say this represents the potential impact on artists' livelihoods, and creativity in general, should the government's plans go ahead. The UK has put forward proposals that will allow AI companies to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access. Any creators or companies that don't want their work used this way would have to opt out, an option that has been called unfair and unworkable. Ed Newton-Rex, the British composer and former AI executive behind the album, said, "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." "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." The artist responsible for each of the album's 12 silent tracks is uncredited, but more than 1,000 artists are credited as co-writers. It's believed that Kate Bush recorded one of the tracks in her studio. Bush, whose popularity experienced a revival following the use of her hit Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in Stranger Things season 4, said, "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" Other co-writers include Tori Amos, Billy Ocean, the Clash, Blur/Gorillaz's Damon Albarn, and Annie Lennox. The track listings spell out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." The album is now available on Spotify. All proceeds go toward Help Musicians, a UK charity supporting current and former musicians. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI laws were holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realising their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson added. The government consultation on the copyright law changes closes today. Other protests include several daily newspapers featuring the slogan "Make It Fair" on their front pages. There's also a letter in the Times slamming the proposals, signed by 34 creatives, including film producer Barbara Broccoli, Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding, actor Stephen Fry, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and musician Ed Sheeran.

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

LONDON -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair."

More than 1,000 musicians join forces on silent album to protest AI law

Artists including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens made an album of white noise in empty studios, protesting a U.K. proposal to give AI firms access to copyrighted music. More than 1,000 musicians, including Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, have released a new album that is mostly silent -- except for white noise recorded in empty studios -- in protest of a proposed law change in Britain that would give artificial intelligence firms access to copyrighted music. The album "Is This What We Want?" was released Tuesday, as U.K. lawmakers consider whether to allow tech companies to use copyrighted works to train their AI models unless artists opt out. British songwriter Yusuf Islam, who changed his name from Cat Stevens, said the proposed changes to copyright law would "hand the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies for free." "There is nothing intrinsically wrong with technology, if it is used properly for the benefit of all human beings and not if it becomes just a commercial means to immorally enrich certain small groups or individuals," he wrote in a post on social media. A number of big name artists, including Elton John and Paul McCartney, have spoken out against the plan which they fear could undermine the recording industry by making it more difficult for artists to protect their work. The 12 tracks on the album spell out the statement: "The British Government Must Not Legalize Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies." An accompanying video pans around empty recording studios -- a grand piano without a pianist to play it, recording equipment without technicians to operate it -- to the sound of footsteps, white noise and the odd clatter. The album was organized by Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a nonprofit that certifies generative AI companies that respect creators' rights. He said on social media the recordings of empty studios and performance spaces represent "the effect the govt's plans would have on musicians' livelihoods." Billy Ocean, Ed O'Brien, Jamiroquai, and Imogen Heap are also among the artists who participated in the project. Workers in a range of creative industries, including media, are increasingly concerned that AI technology could imperil their jobs or degrade their work as tech companies race to perfect machines that can already produce humanlike text. A Pew study Tuesday found most Americans are skeptical that AI will help them at work. "The UK is full of pioneering, highly creative and imaginative artists," Bush said in a statement. "The government's willingness to agree to these copyright changes shows how much our work is undervalued and that there is no protection for one of this country's most important assets: music." "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" she added. Opposition lawmakers are opposed to the proposed U.K. copyright changes, with conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling on the government to rethink its plans. "Almost the entirety of the creative sector says that the government's proposals are not fit for purpose," she said in an editorial piece in British newspaper the Times. Natalie Bennett, a Green Party member of the House of Lords, called generative artificial intelligence "plagiarism on a giant scale." The U.K. government says that the "status quo" cannot continue and that current U.K. copyright laws are making it difficult for copyright holders to control the use of their works, while also creating a challenging legal situation for developers to navigate, stifling investment and the adoption of new technology. "The lack of clarity about the current regime means that leading AI developers do not train their models in the UK, and instead train in jurisdictions with clearer or more permissive rules," the government said when its proposal was released for public consultation in December. Critics say the government's proposal that artists could "opt out" of allowing AI models to train on their work will create administrative headaches and is not an adequate safeguard. "These proposals would be catastrophic for our world-leading creative industries. The opt-out system being put forward prioritizes AI firms over human creativity, enabling big tech firms to effectively steal the work of music creators without their consent and without paying them," UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl told Britain's Daily Mail.

Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes

More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticized by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things." The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organizers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realizing their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "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," said organizer Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus."

Kate Bush and Damon Albarn among 1,000 artists on silent AI protest album

Recordings of empty studios represent impact on musicians of UK's plans to let AI train on their work without permission More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox, have released a silent album in protest against UK government plans to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission, as a celebrity backlash builds against the proposals. The recordings of dormant music studios and performance spaces, called Is This What We Want?, are being released as leading cultural figures warn livelihoods are under threat from proposed changes to copyright law. Paul McCartney, Elton John, Abba's Björn Ulvaeus, the actor Julianne Moore and the authors Val McDermid and Richard Osman are among the celebrities who have called for protection of their work from unlicensed use by tech companies in recent months. The music-free album represents the impact on artists' livelihoods if the government pushes ahead with its plans, according to Ed Newton-Rex, the British composer and former AI executive behind the idea. "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," he said. "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." The project is a protest against a government proposal to let AI firms train their algorithms on the work of creative professionals under a new copyright exemption. The plan includes "an opt-out" option - where creatives and companies can block their work from being used - that has been dismissed by critics as unfair and unworkable. The album contains 12 recordings with more than 1,000 artists credited as co-writers, with the individual artist behind each of the dozen "silent" tracks uncredited. However, it is understood that Kate Bush has recorded one of the dozen tracks in her studio. Bush said: "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" The musicians credited as co-writers include Tori Amos, Billy Ocean, the Clash and the Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer as well as the Kanneh-Mason family of classical musicians. The track listing spells out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits from the album, which is available on streaming services such as Spotify, will be donated to the musicians' charity Help Musicians. The dispute over AI firms' use of copyrighted work stems from how they create the technology underpinning their products. The AI models powering systems such as the ChatGPT chatbot, the image creator Stable Diffusion and the music tool Suno are fed vast amounts of data taken from the internet and learn to spot patterns in that information. This allows them to predict the next word in a sentence, create realistic images or produce convincing audio. However, the use of novels, music tracks, newspaper articles, photographs, art and other copyright-protected work without permission has led to a wave of lawsuits from authors, news publishers, music companies and artists. Some companies have signed licensing agreements with AI firms, including the Guardian, which has struck a deal with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The album is being released on Tuesday to coincide with the closing of a government consultation on changes to copyright law, in which a waiver for AI firms is the preferred option. Other protests to mark the end of the consultation include British daily newspapers, including the Guardian, featuring the slogan "Make It Fair" on their front pages. The protest also accuses the government of trying to change the law to "favour big tech platforms". A letter in the Times from 34 leading creatives published on Tuesday also criticises the government's stance, with signatories including Barbara Broccoli, Helen Fielding, Stephen Fry, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ed Sheeran and Tom Stoppard. The letter warns that the proposals "represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the UK's creative sectors to Big Tech". Warning the government against crushing the creative industries in its drive for growth, Fry said: "You don't promote growth in a garden by allowing all the pests to feast on the fruit and flowers, and you don't promote growth in an economy by allowing all the AIs to feast on the fruits of our creators." A UK government spokesperson said: "As it stands, the UK's current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential - and that cannot continue. "That's why we have been consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and rights holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive."

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

LONDON (AP) -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair."

1,000 artists release 'silent' album to protest UK copyright sell-out to AI | TechCrunch

The U.K. government wants to move full steam ahead on big plans to use and build AI across the country, but not everyone is marching to the beat of its drum. On Monday, a group of 1,000 musicians released a "silent album", in protest of planned changes to copyright law -- changes the artists say will make it easier to train AI on copyrighted work, without licensing (nor paying for) it. The album -- titled "Is This What We Want?" -- features tracks from Kate Bush, contemporary classical composers Max Richter and Thomas Hewitt Jones, and Imogen Heap, among others, with co-writing credits from hundreds more, including big names like Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Mystery Jets, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Riz Ahmed, Tori Amos, and Hans Zimmer. But this is not Band Aid part 2. And it's not a collection of music. Instead, the artists have put together recordings of empty studios and performance spaces -- a symbolic representation of what they believe will be the impact of the planned copyright law changes. "You can hear my cats moving around," is how Hewitt Jones described his contribution to the album. "I have two cats in my studio who bother me all day when I'm working." To put an even more blunt point on it, the titles of the 12 tracks that make up the album spell out a message: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." The album is the latest move in the U.K. (there are similar protests underway in other markets like the U.S.) to bring attention to the issue of how copyright is being handled in AI training. Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the project, has been leading a bigger campaign against AI training without licensing. It's a position that's picked up steam among artists who are freaked out about the encroaching presence of AI. A petition he started has now been signed by more than 47,000 writers, visual artists, actors, and others in the creative industries, with nearly 10,000 of that figure signing up in just the last five weeks since the U.K. government announced its big AI strategy. Newton-Rex said he has also been "running a nonprofit in AI for the last year where we've been certifying companies that, you know, basically don't scrape and train on great work without permission." Newton-Rex arrived at advocating for artists having batted for both sides. Classically trained as a composer, he later built a startup -- not just any startup, but an AI-based music composition platform called Jukedeck that (yes) let people bypass using copyrighted works by creating their own. Its catchy pitch (where he rapped and riffed on the virtues of using AI to write music) won the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield competition in 2015. Jukedeck was eventually acquired by TikTok, where he worked for some time on music services. After several years at other tech companies like Snap and Stability, Newton-Rex is back to considering how to build the future without burning the past. He's contemplating that idea from a pretty interesting vantage point: He now lives in the Bay Area (his wife is Alice Newton-Rex, VP of product at WhatsApp). The album release comes just ahead of planned changes to copyright law in the U.K. In a nutshell, in order to encourage more AI activity, and to get more companies to set up and operate out of the U.K., the government is proposing to allow those training models to use artists' work without permission or payment. Artists who do not want their work used will have to proactively "opt out" if they do not want their work included. Newton-Rex, however, thinks this effectively creates a lose-lose situation for artists, since there is no opt-out method in place, nor any clear way of being able to track what specific material has been fed into any AI system. "We know that opt-out schemes are just not taken up," he said. "This is just going to give 90, 95% of people's work to AI companies. That's without a doubt." The solution? Produce work in other markets where there might be better protections for it, musicians say. Hewitt Jones -- who threw a working keyboard into a harbor in Kent at an in-person protest not long ago (he fished it out, broken, afterwards) -- said he's considering markets like Switzerland for distributing his music in the future. But the rock and hard place of a harbor in Kent are nothing compared to the Wild West of the internet. "We've been told for decades to share our work online, because it's good for exposure. But now AI companies and, incredibly, governments are turning around and saying, 'Well, you put that online for free ..." Newton-Rex said. "So now artists are just stopping making and sharing their work. A number of artists have contacted me to say this is what they're doing." Or not doing, as the case may be. The album will be posted widely on music platforms sometime Tuesday, the organizers said, and any donations or proceeds from playing it will go to the charity Help Musicians.

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians - and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The UK government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the UK a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organisations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several UK newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticising the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries - it's only fair."

1K musicians including Kate Bush release silent album to protest...

LONDON -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from British artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The UK government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features "almost silence," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. The 12 tracks consist of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, "to symbolize what we expect will happen if the government's proposals go through." "It's a mix of artists that everyone's heard of and, you know, and many musicians who are not household names," he told The Associated Press. "And I think that's really important because this issue is going to affect all of us." The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," Newton-Rex said. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," he said. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the UK a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several UK newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair." The British government said in a statement that it was "consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive." It added that "no decisions have been taken."

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

LONDON (AP) -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair."

British Musicians Release a Silent Album to Protest Plans to Let AI Use Their Work

LONDON (AP) -- A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan. The protest album features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, to show what they fear will be the fate of creative venues if the plan goes through. The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Profits will 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," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." Britain's center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." The consultation closes on Tuesday. Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections. Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: "Let's protect the creative industries -- it's only fair." Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Artists including Kate Bush, Sam Fender and Damon Albarn release silent album in protest at AI copyright plans

Is This What We Want? features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces - which artists say could become a reality for musicians in the UK if the changes go ahead. Profits will be donated to the musicians' charity, Help Musicians. More than 1,000 artists and musicians including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, Sam Fender and Annie Lennox have recorded a silent album in protest at proposed changes to copyright law, which they say could lead to artists being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). Is This What We Want? also involves artists including Billy Ocean, Tom Grennan, New Order, Simon Le Bon, Tori Amos, Pet Shop Boys, The Clash, Bashy, Jamiroquai and Imogen Heap - along with a range of composers, conductors and organisations such as Hans Zimmer, and the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. It features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces - which artists say could become a reality for musicians in the UK if the changes go ahead. The track listing spells out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." Under the government's plans, an exemption to copyright would be created for training AI, so tech firms would not need a licence to use copyrighted material - and creators would need to opt out to prevent their work from being used. The new plans fail to reimburse artists for AI recreating and copying their work, stifle creativity, and the proposed opt-out scheme places an unnecessary burden on artists, critics say. All profits from the silent album will be donated to the musicians' charity, Help Musicians. Campaigner Ed Newton-Rex, who organised the album, said: "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. "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 creative industries have been vocal in their opposition to how powerful AI models such as ChatGPT can be used to generate fresh content on demand, imitating what already exists. Concerns around their use by film and TV studios to write scripts or even replace actors were a key driver of the Hollywood strikes in 2023, while music labels have sought to prevent pop stars' vocals from being freely cloned and photographers have spoken out against online art generators. In 2023, UK music contributed £7.6bn to the UK economy, with exports of UK music reaching £4.6bn. While some AI firms have started making deals to license content, many existing models have been trained using data from the public internet, including from news and other publishing websites. Dan Conway, chief executive of the Publishers Association, the trade organisation representing book, journal and electronic publishers in the UK, said the "extraordinary strength of support" against the proposals is "something the government ignores at its peril". He continued: "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... "The message to government is clear: the great copyright heist cannot go unchallenged."

Musicians Release Silent Album to Protest UK's AI Copyright Changes

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticised by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?," said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things". The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organisers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realising their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "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," said organiser Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." ($1 = 0.7913 pounds) (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by William James and Ed Osmond)

Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticised by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?," said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things". The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organisers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realising their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "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," said organiser Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by William James and Ed Osmond)

Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticised by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?," said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things". The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organisers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realising their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "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," said organiser Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." ($1 = 0.7913 pounds) Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by William James and Ed Osmond Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Lifestyle

Artists release silent album in AI proposal protest

Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Hans Zimmer are among the 1,000 artists in support of the album. In response to proposed UK legislation and change in copyright law that would allow AI developers to train their models using copyrighted material unless an 'opt out' was selected, more than 1,000 artists have released a silent album. The track listing spells out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Billy Ocean and Hans Zimmer, among others, have backed the album entitled 'Is This What We Want?', which contains 12 recordings featuring silent tracks, empty studios and crediting more than 1,000 artists, with all profits to benefit UK charity Help Musicians. Under the proposal AI developers would have the freedom to circumnavigate copyright law in order to train their algorithms using material already available online, for the purpose of text or data mining. Artists and creators have the power to opt out in a 'rights reservation', however, its critics have said that it isn't feasible for artists to constantly monitor their work across the internet, or contact thousands of different AI service providers. In a statement, Ed Newton-Rex, the organiser of the album, said: "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. "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." In her own statement singer Kate Bush asked, "in the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" AI and GenAI have been a source of contention for artists and content creators for quite some time now. In April of last year singer Billie Eilish was among the 200 creators calling on AI companies to stop devaluing the rights of human artists. Later that year, a copyright lawsuit filed by a group of artists against companies using text-to-image generators, including Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt, was allowed to proceed by a US judge. Last month, Canadian technology company Thomson Reuters won a favourable partial summary judgement against AI start-up Ross Intelligence in a copyright infringement lawsuit. In 2020, Reuters accused Ross Intelligence of unlawfully copying and using content from its Westlaw platform to train its AI models. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush Release Silent Album to Protest Proposed U.K. AI Law

L.A. Mayor Axes Fire Chief Weeks After Wildfires in Palisades and Altadena Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, The Clash and Hans Zimmer are among 1,000 artists featured on a new collaborative album surprise released on Tuesday, but you won't hear any of their music. Instead, their new record is merely 47 minutes and 17 seconds of relative silence and white noise, a melancholy display of the sound of music if there's no artists to actually create it. The album, called Is This What We Want?, is a protest record aimed at the UK government, which is considering changes to the law that would grant artificial intelligence companies permission to use copyrighted works unless artists specifically opt out. Critics have voiced concern over the opt-out method, with the album's organizers saying it "reverses the very principles of copyright law." "Opt-out models are near impossible to enforce, have yet to be proven effective anywhere else in the world, and place enormous burdens on artists, particularly emerging talent," organizers said Tuesday. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" Bush said. Billy Ocean, Ed O'Brien, Jamiroquai, Imogen Heap and Tori Amos are among other artists who participated in the project. The album is made up of 12 tracks whose individual song titles create the message "The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft uo Benefit AI Companies." Any profits the album may generate will go to a charity called Help Musicians. Is This What We Want? was organized by Ed Newton-Rex, an early AI music developer who now runs Fairly Trained, a non-profit pushing for AI companies to get licenses to train their models on copyrighted content. "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," Newton-Rex said in a statement. "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 UK proposal has been expectedly unpopular in the music industry, which has advocated for strict regulations on AI companies to ensure their works could only be used with the express permission of rights holders. The major labels sued two of the most popular AI music generation services -- Suno and Udio -- last year, claiming the companies infringed thousands of works to train their models without a license. British music icons including Paul McCartney and Elton John have spoken out calling for the government to abandon the proposed changes. "We're the people, you're the government. You're supposed to protect us. That's your job," McCartney said in an interview in January "So if you're putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not gonna have them." As John also said in a separate interview: "This will dilute and threaten young artists' earnings even further. The musician community rejects it wholeheartedly."

In AI Protest, Musicians Stage a Totally Silent British Invasion

A new album called "Is This What We Want?" features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians -- and the sound of silence. With contributions from British artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control. The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain's creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan.

Kate Bush and other artists protest AI copyright laws with silent album

The artists hope This What We Want?, which is released on Tuesday, will draw attention to the potential impact on livelihoods and the UK music industry. All profits from the record, entitled This What We Want?, will be donated to the charity Help Musicians. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" Kate Bush said in a statement. The album - also backed by the likes of Billy Ocean, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead and Bastille's Dan Smith, as well as the The Clash, Mystery Jets and Jamiroquai - features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, demonstrating what the artists fear is the potential impact of the proposed law change. The track listing for the record simply spells out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." The government has previously said it aimed to deliver legal certainty through a copyright regime that provided creators with "real control" and transparency. It is currently consulting on proposals that would allow AI companies to use material that is available online without respecting copyright if they are using it for text or data mining. Generative AI programmes mine, or learn, from vast amounts of data like text, images, or music online to generate new content which feels like it has been made by a human. The proposals would give artists or creators a so-called "rights reservation" - the ability to opt out. But critics of the plan believe it is not possible for an individual writer or artist to notify thousands of different AI service providers that they do not want their content used in that way, or to monitor what has happened to their work across the whole internet. Imogen Heap, Yusuf aka Cat Stevens and Riz Ahmed have also backed the silent album release as well as Tori Amos and Hans Zimmer.

UK creatives protest AI copyright law changes with silent album and campaign

The album's song titles spell out "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." British creatives are speaking out against the government's proposed changes to copyright law. Take Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Ben Howard, who join over 1,000 musicians in releasing a protest album called Is This What We Want?. Currently, AI developers must follow the same copyright laws as anyone else, meaning they can't use creative material to train models without permission. However, the December 2024 proposal would provide them with a copyright exemption that requires creatives to "opt out" of their materials being used. Tuesday, February 25 is the government's last day seeking views on the change. "The musicians on this album came together to protest this," reads the release statement. "The album consists of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, representing the impact we expect the government's proposals would have on musicians' livelihoods." The album consists of 12 songs with their titles spelling out, "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." The record's profits go toward UK-based charity Help Musicians. Tuesday also saw the UK News Media Association and publications including The Guardian protest the copyright exemption proposal through the Make It Fair campaign. "The creative works of British artists, authors, journalists, illustrators, photographers, film-makers, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters are being scraped from the internet by tech companies, big and small, to build and maintain AI products that have the potential to reshape our world," the campaign argues. "Without fair reward, our creative industries simply won't survive. The government must stand behind its creative industries. It's time to fairly compensate the creators." On Monday, a range of creatives wrote an open letter to The Times in protest. "There is no moral or economic argument for stealing our copyright. Taking it away will devastate the industry and steal the future of the next generation," it stated. Signatories included Paul McCartney, Elton John, Dua Lipa, Helen Fielding and Ed Sheeran.

Artists release silent album in protest against AI using their work

The album - also backed by the likes of Billy Ocean, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead and Bastille's Dan Smith, as well as The Clash, Mystery Jets and Jamiroquai - features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, demonstrating what the artists fear is the potential impact of the proposed law change. The track listing for the record simply spells out the message: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." The government is currently consulting on proposals that would allow AI companies to use material that is available online without respecting copyright if they are using it for text or data mining. Generative AI programmes mine, or learn, from vast amounts of data like text, images, or music online to generate new content which feels like it has been made by a human. The proposals would give artists or creators a so-called "rights reservation" - the ability to opt out. But critics of the plan believe it is not possible for an individual writer or artist to notify thousands of different AI service providers that they do not want their content used in that way, or to monitor what has happened to their work across the whole internet. A spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said in a statement on Tuesday that the UK's "current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential - and that cannot continue". "That's why we have been consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive. "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so." They added that "no decisions have been taken" and "no moves will be made until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives."

Kate Bush leads UK musicians in 'silent album' AI fight

London (AFP) - Over 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn on Tuesday released a silent album in protest at proposed changes to UK copyright law around artificial intelligence (AI) which they say will legalise music theft. "Is This What We Want" featuring recordings of empty studios and performance spaces is part of a growing backlash against the government's plans. Writers and musicians including Bush also denounced the proposals as a "wholesale giveaway" to Silicon Valley in a letter to The Times newspaper on Tuesday. Other signatories included Paul McCartney, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Sting as well as writers Kazuo Ishiguro, Michael Morpurgo and Helen Fielding. In a very rare move, UK newspapers also highlighted their concerns launching a "Make it Fair" campaign featuring wrap round ads on the front of almost every national daily, with an inside editorial by the papers' editors. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government is considering overhauling the law to allow AI companies to use creators' content on the internet to help develop their models, unless rights holders opt out. But artists say opting out will be difficult and onerous. Album organiser Ed Newton-Rex said musicians were "united in their thorough condemnation of this ill-thought-through plan". "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," he said. "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," he added. 'Catastrophic' The album's release was timed to coincide with the end of the government's public consultation on the proposed changes. Starmer has previously said the government needs to "get the balance right" with copyright and AI while noting the technology represented "a huge opportunity". Authors have also spoken out about the UK government's plans. Best selling US writer Scott Turow last week criticised the "cavalier attitude of the British government" which he said proposed to "allow big tech companies to scrape all of our books and repackage our words as 'original content'." "Instead of trying to prevent this, the British government wants to give them a free pass. That will be catastrophic, not just for writers in the UK, but all over the world," he wrote in the Daily Mail. In a rare interview last month, McCartney, 82, one of the two surviving members of The Beatles, told the BBC any new legislation had to protect creative thinkers and artists, warning "you're not going to have them" without that. "You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it, and they don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off," he said. "The truth is, the money's going somewhere ... Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'?" In 2023, UK music contributed £7.6 billion to the UK economy, with exports of UK music reaching £4.6 billion.

Music Artists Release Silent Album In AI Protest

Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox are among a thousand musicians who've released a silent album to protest against artificial intelligence laws. Artists have warned government plans to change copyright law to allow AI models to train using songs could damage the sector. The record - called Is This What We Want? - features recordings of empty studios, which they say could become the reality of the music business. Tiwa Adebayo joins Caroline Hepker on Bloomberg Radio to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)

Kate Bush Slams UK's AI Copyright Proposal: 'Will Our Voices Go Unheard?

Kate Bush (pictured) joins other high-profile musicians in penning a joint letter to The Times slamming the government's plans. Credit: TV Times, Getty Images. The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has reshaped industries in ways once thought impossible, from automating tasks to generating lifelike conversations. But now, the technology has set its sights on something deeply human -- art. Artists have begun pushing back as the U.K. government plans to let AI companies use copyrighted work without permission. In the latest act of protest against the proposal, over 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush and Hans Zimmer, have released a silent album to make a stand against AI in their industry. A Silent Album The album, titled "Is This What We Want?," is entirely music-free, meant to represent the AI proposal's negative impact on artists. The U.K. government is currently consulting proposals that would allow AI firms to mine copyrighted material if using it for text or data. If the proposal goes through, all artists will be automatically enrolled in the scheme, with the option to opt out. This has led to widespread backlash across the industry, with critics claiming that it would be impossible for artists to opt out of the thousands of potential AI firms mining their work. When read in order, the track listing for the silent record spells out: "The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." Kate Bush Speaks Out Famed British musician Kate Bush has been at the forefront of promoting the protest album, reportedly recording one of the dozen tracks in her studio. "The government's willingness to agree to these copyright changes shows how much our work is undervalued and that there is no protection for one of this country's most important assets: music," Bush said in a statement . "Please help protect the music makers and our heartfelt work. We make it for you, not for it to be taken and used against us," she added. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" Bush joined other high-profile musicians in penning a joint letter to The Times slamming the government's plans. "Britain's creative industries want to play their part in the AI revolution, as they have with new technologies in the past," the letter read. "But if this is to succeed, they need to do so from a firm intellectual property base. If not, Britain will lose out on its best growth opportunity," it added. The silent album is the culmination of months of protest from some of the U.K.'s most prominent musicians. In January, over 60 organizations from the U.K. entertainment industry, including Elton John and Paul McCartney, spoke out against the plans. As legal battles and moral debates over AI's use of copyrighted material escalate, some publishers are opting for a different approach -- licensing their content to AI firms. On February 14, U.K. newspaper giant The Guardian struck a deal with OpenAI to use its journalism in training models like ChatGPT. While such agreements offer a path toward a regulated AI environment, they also raise questions about the long-term impact on the publishing industry.

Kate Bush accuses ministers of silencing musicians in copyright row

Under current government plans, tech giants will be free to use copyrighted material unless the rights holder explicitly opts out. The move has been met with fierce opposition from the creative industries, which have warned that this "opt-out" system will be difficult to enforce and place a huge burden on artists. News publishers have today separately launched an advertising campaign online and in print across hundreds of news titles, including The Telegraph, to highlight how their content is at risk of being given away to tech companies for free. Owen Meredith, the chief executive of the News Media Association, said: "There will be no AI innovation without the high-quality content that is the essential fuel for AI models. "We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our 'Make it Fair' campaign and call on the Government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries." No 10 insisted big tech companies needed "appropriate access" to creative content. Some of Britain's most prominent artists and musicians have demanded more protections. They include Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Cat Stevens and Hans Zimmer. All have contributed to the new protest album, titled Is This What We Want? It features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, representing what musicians fear will happen if the Government does not change course. The track listing spells out the message: "The British Government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies." Max Richter, the composer and producer who has scored films including Ad Astra, said: "The Government's proposals would impoverish creators, favouring those automating creativity over the people who compose our music, write our literature, paint our art." A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the current copyright system was not working and the Government wanted to "strike a balance between a system that protects rights holders and their interests but also allows AI innovators to invest into the UK and ensure that they've got appropriate access to data that supports investment into the sector." The protest album was organised by Ed Newton-Rex, a tech executive who made headlines when he quit his role at Stability AI in 2023 in protest against the industry's "exploitative" use of copyrighted material. 'Disastrous for musicians' Mr Newton-Rex said: "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. "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 album is available on major streaming services, with all profits donated to the Help Musicians charity. It comes amid growing anger at the UK's AI policy, with critics warning that ministers risk damaging creative industries worth roughly £135bn to the economy. Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney have also recently criticised the opt-out approach. MPs, peers and creative industry bosses have accused the Government of pandering to US tech giants at the expense of British creative talent. A consultation on the proposals ends on Tuesday. A government spokesman said: "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken, and no moves will be made until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives, including increased control for right holders to help them easily license their content, enabling lawful access to material to train world-leading AI models in the UK, and building greater transparency over material being used. Our proposals will be set out in due course."

Creative industries protest against UK plan about AI and copyright

Thousands of British musicians, artists, authors and journalists have joined a wave of protests against government proposals that could make it easier for tech companies to use their work to train artificial intelligence models. On Tuesday, the government will close a consultation into plans for the future of copyright and AI, which suggests a so-called "rights reservation" system where every company, artist or author would need to opt out of their work being utilised and copied by tech groups. Creative sector and media groups are responding with an industry campaign on Tuesday called "Make it Fair", as part of a co-ordinated wave of protests planned to highlight the dangers of this approach. National daily and regional publications, including The Guardian and The Times, will run the same cover "wrap" across their print newspapers and websites. Weekly titles will run the campaign throughout the week. The campaign accuses the government of siding with big US tech companies over the UK's creative industries, posing an "existential threat" from AI models. More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, The Clash and Hans Zimmer, are also set to release a "silent" album titled Is This What We Want? The group wants to show that the proposals risk undermining the UK's music industry by featuring recordings of empty studios and performance spaces. In a statement, the musicians said the government's proposed changes reverse the principle of copyright law, arguing an opt-out model is difficult to enforce, and places burdens and costs on artists. Separately, artists such as Paul McCartney and Elton John have argued against the government proposals, while hundreds of other creatives, including bestselling authors Mark Haddon and Michael Rosen, last week signed a letter expressing their opposition. The extent of the anger over the proposals highlights the difficulties facing the government in seeking to boost its tech, and specifically AI, industries. Tech companies want to mine the internet freely to train algorithms, while creative industries want them to be more transparent about how their models are created and to strike licence fees to use their work. Media executives worry that government proposals could lead to the use of copyrighted material and have raised concerns that ministers are being won over by deep-pocketed tech companies. Sir Keir Starmer's lead adviser on AI, Matt Clifford, has faced questions over whether his investments in AI companies serve as a conflict of interest in the advice he offers relating to the copyright regime. The venture capitalist has said there are robust processes in place to ensure he does not benefit financially from decisions he helps shape, and has pointed out that the creative industry has a very powerful lobby. Clifford has divested from one of the UK's most successful AI companies, Faculty AI, to avoid any allegations of a conflict -- a process that he set in motion at the start of the year. A government figure said that US AI companies already train and release models in the US using British copyrighted material. They added that if the UK opted for a more restrictive regime -- such as an opt-in model -- it would risk "falling for the worst of all worlds where we have neither protected the creative industries nor got a domestic AI industry". TechUK, which represents the UK's tech industry, said in its submission that AI was a key driver of economic growth, and a version of an opt-out mechanism "could be a workable compromise if implementation challenges, such as scalable, machine-readable opt-outs, are addressed".