Australian music industry groups have condemned the unauthorized use of their creativity to train large-scale artificial intelligence models. Members drafted a letter to the government pleading to uphold its copyright and asking for stronger protections to prevent unauthorized use. The move raised concerns after reports that Australian musicians’ work was being used without their consent. The following is the Australian music industry’s firm stance on protecting its rights in the face of artificial intelligence technology.
Australian music industry writes to government
Publish an open letter urging government officials, Australian musicians, local artists and organizations to work together to ensure creators are protected by law. According to Variety Australia, the alliance includes APRA AMCOS, ARIA, AMPAL, Copyright Office, Australian Music Center, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office, Australian Publishers Association, Screenrights, Australian Screen Production Company, AIR, etc. Previously, The Atlantic reported that the works of millions of local Australian and New Zealand artists were unreasonably used to train artificial intelligence models without the knowledge, consent, or payment of songwriters, composers, and publishers. The work was included in four “mega-song collections,” raising concerns about copyright infringement, liability and safety. Works by local artists are also part of the collection, including Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Sia, Crowded House, Split Enz, INXS, Kylie MinogueChé Fu, Lorde, Christine Anu, Nick Cave, Tame Impala, Yothu Yindi, Six60, Marlon Williams, Dan Sultan, and more, according to the pipeline above.
A call for British musicians
Before Australia, the British music industry had similar concerns about copyright and artificial intelligence technology. By 2025, there will be 400 artists including Elton John, Dua Lipaand Mr. Paul McCartneywrote a letter to Sir Keir Starmer. Talking about the UK’s status as a creative powerhouse, artists said not protecting their rights was like giving their work away to tech companies.
