Elton John supports Paul McCartney over AI copyright law: “The musician community rejects it wholeheartedly”
As the presence of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly unavoidable, leading figures within the music industry continue to highlight the dangers of the technology as well as newly introduced legislation concerning AI. Most recently, Elton John has voiced his support for Paul McCartney, who recently criticised a proposed change to copyright law.
Currently, the government of the United Kingdom is considering altering copyright laws to allow developers of AI models to use any and all creator content available on the internet for free use in developing their models. It should be noted that the proposed change does include an option to opt-out, but putting the onus on artists to notify thousands of tech developers not to use their work seems almost intentionally complex.
In response, McCartney, speaking on the BBC’s current affairs programme Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, said the change would lead to a “loss of creativity”. The former Beatle explained, “You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it,” he said. “They don’t have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.”
“The truth is, the money’s going somewhere,” McCartney added. “Somebody’s getting paid, so why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote ‘Yesterday?’”
Echoing these comments, Elton John told the Sunday Times, “The wheels are in motion to allow AI companies to ride roughshod over the traditional copyright laws that protect artists’ livelihoods.”
Examining the knock-on effects of the proposed law change, John shared, “This will allow global big tech companies to gain free and easy access to artists’ work in order to train their artificial intelligence and create competing music. This will dilute and threaten young artists’ earnings even further. The musician community rejects it wholeheartedly.”
The ‘Rocket Man’ songwriter declared, “Without thorough and robust copyright protection that allows artists to earn hard-fought earnings from their music, the UK’s future place on the world stage as a leader in arts and popular culture is under serious jeopardy.”
Concluding his thoughts on the dangers of AI, John said, “It is the absolute bedrock of artistic prosperity, and the country’s future success in the creative industries depends on it.” John joins an ever-increasing number of artists lamenting the rise of artificial intelligence and the damage it could cause to the creative industries.
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