A letter to the government

Sir Paul McCartney entering Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Photo: MJ Kim for MPL Communications Ltd.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kate Bush, Sir Paul McCartney and Barbara Broccoli are among artists calling on ministers to prevent AI companies “stealing” copyright from Britain’s creative industries. They were joined by Ed Sheeran, Sir Stephen Fry, Helen Fielding, Sir Simon Rattle, Dua Lipa, Sir Tom Stoppard, Sir Elton John, Simon Le Bon, Sting and other leading creatives in opposing plans to change copyright laws.

The government is planning to change 300-year-old copyright laws to make it easier for AI companies to operate in the UK. In a letter to The Times, the artists warn that the proposals “represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the UK creative sectors to big tech”.

The government’s proposal to exempt Silicon Valley from adhering to creative copyright in building its AI platforms would represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the UK’s creative sectors to Big Tech. It would smash a hole in the moral right of creators to present their work as they wish and would undermine our 300-year-old gold-standard copyright system, which supports individual artists and creative businesses, large and small.

The proposal is wholly unnecessary and counterproductive, jeopardising not only the country’s international position as a beacon of creativity but also the resulting jobs, economic contribution and soft power — and especially harming new and young artists who represent our nation’s future.

The UK’s robust copyright system is one of the main reasons why rights holders work in Britain, bringing much-needed inward investment. The creative industries contribute £126 billion to the UK economy annually and employ 2.4 million people, 70 per cent of whom live outside London. They drive tourism, contributing to our standing across the globe, and they bring joy and community spirit to our people, while forging a culture in which we are all reflected.

The government should embrace the Kidron amendments introduced by the House of Lords into the Data (Use and Access) Bill. They are fair and they represent the best interests of the UK and its creative industries without undermining the development of AI. In fact, they harness the power of copyright to drive innovation in the age of AI.

Britain’s creative industries want to play their part in the AI revolution, as they have with new technologies in the past. But if this is to succeed, they need to do so from a firm intellectual-property base. If not, Britain will lose out on its best growth opportunity.

There is no moral or economic argument for stealing our copyright. Taking it away will devastate the industry and steal the future of the next generation.