Considerations about the Government AI Consultation
The Musicians' Union is cautious about the government consultation currently going on in regard to copyrighted material being used to trainĀ generative artificial intelligence (genAI). The consultation is a direct successor of a government-proposed exception that saw the light in 2023, andĀ didn't go through due toĀ strong oppositionĀ fromĀ the creative industry.Ā The difference this time is that the government has outlined a way for right holders to prevent their works from being used to train AI systems. Alternatively, they could opt to negotiate a presumably paid licence for their use.
In the realm of music, the right holders are mainly record labels and publishers. However, musicians who signed their contracts and transferred their rights before the boom of genAI had no way to foresee the weight this technology would have in the cultural landscape and industry, or the impact its use would have in their revenue. For this reason, the Musicians' Union advocates for each creator having the...