The U.K. government is advancing plans to attract more AI companies by proposing changes to copyright law. These changes would permit developers to train AI models using artists’ online content without requiring permission or payment, unless creators explicitly opt out. However, there is significant opposition to these plans.
Recently, a group of 1,000 musicians released a “silent album” in protest of the proposed changes. Titled “Is This What We Want?” the album includes tracks from artists such as Kate Bush, Imogen Heap, Max Richter, and Thomas Hewitt Jones, among others. It also features contributions from notable names like Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Mystery Jets, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Riz Ahmed, Tori Amos, and Hans Zimmer.
Contrary to typical music collections, this album consists of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, symbolizing the artists’ concerns about the potential impact of the proposed copyright changes. Thomas Hewitt Jones described his contribution as an ambient recording where “you can hear my cats moving around” in his studio, emphasizing the album’s symbolic nature.
The album’s 12 tracks convey a clear message through their titles: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.” This release is part of a broader movement in the U.K. aimed at raising awareness of how copyright is managed in AI training. Similar protests are occurring in other regions, such as the U.S., highlighting a global concern among artists.
Ed Newton-Rex organized the project and has been leading a larger campaign against AI training that utilizes unlicensed content. A petition initiated by him, which opposes training AI on creative work without permission, has garnered support from over 47,000 individuals in the creative industries, including nearly 10,000 new signatories following the U.K. government’s announcement of its AI strategy.
Newton-Rex has also been managing a nonprofit organization that certifies companies that refrain from training AI models on copyrighted material without consent. His advocacy for artists stems from his experience on both sides of the issue. As a classically trained composer, he founded an AI-based music composition platform called Jukedeck, which allowed users to create music without relying on copyrighted works. Jukedeck gained recognition when it won the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield competition in 2015 and was subsequently acquired by TikTok. Newton-Rex later worked at other tech companies, including Snap and Stability, before returning to champion artists’ rights in the face of evolving AI technologies.
The release of the album comes just before the U.K. government’s proposed changes to copyright law, which would mandate that artists who do not wish for their work to be used for AI training must proactively opt out. Newton-Rex argues that this approach presents a significant challenge for artists because no current opt-out mechanism exists, nor is there a way to track what material is used in AI systems.
According to Newton-Rex, opt-out schemes are rarely utilized, predicting that 90% to 95% of creative work could end up in the hands of AI companies without proper regulation. Consequently, some artists are considering markets with potentially better protections, such as Switzerland, for future distribution of their work.
Many artists express frustration over being encouraged to share their work online for exposure, only to find it exploited by AI companies and governments. As a result, some artists are choosing to stop creating and sharing their work altogether.
The album is set for broad release on music platforms and any proceeds from its play or donations will be directed to the charity Help Musicians.