Silent Album Protest: 1,000 UK Artists Band Against AI
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Silent Album Protest: 1,000 UK Artists Band Against AI · Source: 1,000 UK Artists
Silent Album Protest: Is This What We Want? · Source: 1,000 UK Artists
“Is This What We Want?” is the silent album protest from over 1,000 UK artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and Damon Albarn.
According to BBC News, the release of the silent album on Tuesday was a response to the government’s plans to make changes to the copyright law in the UK. Under the new law, AI companies would have reduced restrictions when it comes to the use of copyrighted media without any licensing necessary.
Silent Album Protest: Is This What We Want?
The crux of the matter is, unless music rights holders choose to “opt out”, AI developers are welcome to use the content of any artist online in the development of new AI models. All of this will be made possible under the newly proposed laws.
In an effort to draw the world’s attention to the issue and the potential consequences for the music industry in the UK, the 1,000 Artists initiative has linked all the proceeds from the silent album protest to the charity known as Help Musicians.
As a symbolic demonstration of the impact of the proposed laws, the album is comprised of recordings of empty studio and performance spaces, a grim forecast that could soon become a reality for many artists within the industry. In accordance with this message, the album’s tracklist makes up the so-called writing on the wall, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.”
On the other side of the coin, many critics question the logistics of notifying thousands of AI service providers as an independent artist. Furthermore, how does one track or monitor the usage of content across the endless online landscape?
The 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. 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.
Spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
The silent album’s initiative is certainly a noble one, but does it have any sway in the situation. Although it was released on Virgin Records, the protest could do with more support from other major labels and industry players if anything is to be done.
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