More than 1,000 musicians, among them Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bushthey released a silent album this Tuesday in protest for the changes planned by the United Kingdom government to the copyright law. They argue that these They would facilitate artificial intelligence companies to train models using protected jobs For copyright without a license.
According to the new proposals, IA developers may use the content of the creators on the Internet for the benefit of their models, unless the rights holders choose to “exclude”. Artists expect the album, entitled Is This what we want?, attract attention to the potential impact on the media and the music industry of the United Kingdom.
Against AI: artists launched a “silent” album in protest
All the profits of this album will be donated to the beneficial organization Help Musicians and is also supported by artists such as Billy Ocean, Ed O’Brien from Radiohead and Dan Smith of Bastille, The Clash, Mystery Jets and Jamiroquai. “In the music of the future, will our voices not hear?” Kate Bush asked in a statement.
The album’s song list simply explains the message: “The British government should not legalize the theft of music to benefit artificial intelligence companies“Currently, the government is consulting proposals that would allow artificial intelligence companies Use available online material without respecting copyright If they use it for text or data mining.
A spokesman for Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) He said in a statement on Tuesday that “the current regime of the United Kingdom for copyright and AI is preventing creative industries, media and the AI sector from reaching its maximum potential, and that cannot continue,” according to the BBC.
“That is why we have been consulting on A new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and rights holders and offers a solution that allows both to prosper, “they said. They also added that “no decision was made” and “no movement will be made until we are absolutely sure that we have a practical plan that meets each of our objectives.”
“Disstrupting for musicians”
The composer Max Richter, another of the artists involved in the album, pointed out how the plans not only impact musicians but also impoverish creators “in general, from writers to visual artists and beyond. In 2023, the music of the United Kingdom contributed a record of 7.6 billion pounds to the economy.
The organizer of the silent disc, Ed Newton-Rex, he said that the proposals were not only “disastrous for musicians” in the United Kingdom, but also “totally unnecessary”since the country can be “leader in AI without throwing our leading creative industries in the world.”
He said that the new album shows that “as much as the government tries to justify it, the musicians themselves are united in their resounding condemnation of this poorly thought plan.” The singer -songwriter Naomi Kimpenu He added: “We cannot allow the Government to abandon us and to steal our work for the benefit of great technological ones.”
In January, Sir Paul McCartney told the BBC that the changes proposed to the copyright law could allow “unusual” technology that could make musicians and artists win life.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
