Dua Lipa, Elton John, Damon Albarn: several British music stars mobilize to defend copyright against AI

Twelve (almost) silent tracks. To protest against a British government project that wants to let artificial intelligence companies use copyrighted works without permission, more than a thousand artists released an album on Tuesday, February 25, composed of ambient sound recordings of empty recording spaces and studios. Called Is This What You Want, the twelve tracks of the project, led by Jamiroquai, The Clash , Billy Ocean and Kate Bush , form the phrase "the British government must not legalize theft for the benefit of artificial intelligence companies" .

Artificial intelligence

"The government's proposal would hand over the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies for free, allowing these companies to exploit the musicians' work to compete with them," said Ed Newton-Rex, the musician behind the album. The Labour government's plan includes applying "a copyright exception" to train AI models for commercial purposes. Companies developing these models would no longer need to obtain prior permission from authors to use certain content. However, creators would be able to "reserve their rights" to oppose the use of their work to train AI.

At the same time, around thirty authors and artists, including singers Elton John , Sting and Dua Lipa and Nobel Prize winner for literature Kazuo Ishiguro, published an open letter in The Times newspaper on Tuesday to denounce a "useless and counterproductive" reform . And in a rare joint initiative, the main titles of the British press, The Daily Mail, The Sun , The Guardian , The Times , and The Daily Telegraph , all carried a message on a blue background on their front page on Tuesday: "Make it Fair". "Without remuneration, our creative industries simply will not survive," argued the News Media Association, which initiated the initiative. Last October, a petition had already been launched by singer Björn Ulvaeus, signed by Julianne Moore and Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, among others. Warning AI companies that free uses of the works posed “a major and unfair threat,” it has since surpassed 47,500 signatures.

When the Labour government launched the consultation in mid-December, it advocated reform that would bring “greater control” to the creators of content used by AI developers. “I think we need to be balanced, but I also think we have an incredible opportunity” with AI, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a parliamentary committee in December. According to official figures, the creative industries generate more than £120 billion a year and employ 2.4 million people in the country. The Labour government, which hopes to make the UK a “world leader” in AI, announced an action plan in mid-January aimed at attracting companies in the sector by letting them test their innovations in the UK before any regulation.

Beyond the United Kingdom, the rapid development of AI, many of whose models now make it possible to generate drawings, images or sounds, sometimes inspired by works protected by copyright, is worrying artists around the world. In early February, 34,000 French artists signed a platform warning against the plundering of their works and demanding “fair and lasting solutions”. Strikes to demand safeguards in terms of AI have also disrupted Hollywood and then the video game sector in the United States since 2023, at the initiative of the American actors’ union.