In an imaginative turn of protest, over 1,000 musicians have come together to release a unique album devoid of lyrics, titled “Is This What We Want?” The album, which dropped on Tuesday, aims to voice dissent against proposed changes to British copyright laws that would allow AI developers greater access to copyrighted works for their training. Artists like Kate Bush, Billy Ocean, Annie Lennox, and Hans Zimmer are among the contributors to this unconventional project, which features sounds of empty studios representing what they view as the detrimental impact of the government proposals on musicians’ livelihoods.
The album, while silent in nature, includes subtle ambient sounds—like footsteps and rustling—that emphasize the weight of the silence itself. “Doesn’t that silence say it all?” asked Kate Bush in a statement. She expressed concern that if the proposals advance, the creative output of musicians across the country could be surrendered to AI companies without proper compensation.
Currently, the government's initiative would require artists to actively opt-out or "reserve their rights" to prevent their creations from being utilized for AI training. Critics of the proposal highlight that this stance unfairly shifts the responsibility of protecting artistic works onto the creators themselves. Ed Newton-Rex, head of Fairly Trained—a nonprofit organization that certifies AI companies and their training data—organized the album and emphasized that such opt-out provisions place an undue burden on rights holders.
The dialogue around the government’s proposals comes as the window for public comments was set to close, sparking conversations about the protection of creative rights in the age of AI. In a world where technology continually evolves, the voices of these artists aim to resonate beyond the silence they curated, advocating for the acknowledgment and respect of their artistic contributions.
