Over a thousand musicians record album in silence to protest against AI
" Is This What We Want? " questions the album with the sound of silence of more than a thousand musicians who have taken a position on the use of Artificial Intelligence in music.
Featuring contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released on Tuesday to protest against proposed UK changes to AI laws, which artists fear will erode their creative control.
The British government has opened a public consultation on a plan to allow tech companies to use copyrighted material to help train AI models, unless creators explicitly opt out.
Critics of the idea fear it will make it harder for artists to maintain control over their work and 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 stages , to show what they fear will be the fate of creative spaces if the plan goes ahead. The titles of the 12 tracks form the phrase: "The British government must not legalise stealing music to benefit AI companies ."
Proceeds will be donated to the charity Help Musicians .
Read: Shakira's movements on stage cause concern among her fans" The government's proposal would hand over the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies , for free, allowing those companies to exploit musicians' work to compete with them," said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who arranged the album.
"It's a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but is entirely unnecessary," Newton-Rex said. "The UK can be a leader in AI without sacrificing our world-renowned creative industries."
The centre-left Labour government says it wants to make Britain a world leader in AI . In December it opened a consultation on how copyright law can “allow creators and rights holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training ”, while ensuring “ AI developers have easy access to a wide range of high-quality creative content”. The public consultation period ends on Tuesday.
Publishers, artists' organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have formed the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections.
Several UK newspapers ran front page covers on Tuesday criticising the government's consultation with the slogan: "Protect the creative industries. It's the right thing to do."
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