The state51 Music Group - Few would dare.
London
Joined May 2009
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Using AI trained on the amazing human achievements of recorded music to displace musicians from music making seems utterly depraved. Difficult as it is we need to ask music platforms to show and respect humanity in creation and production, and allow us to express preferences.
“The dirty secret of AI is that it still runs on human labour,” @geoplace @oiioxford @TowardsFairWork speaking to @matthfield @Telegraph.
No AI company is going to advance medical science or ecological sustainability by ripping off musicians. @arthurmensch should be honest about that, and up front that his suggestion is a transfer of wealth and patronage power to politicians if they will get creatives off his back.
Mistral CEO: AI companies should pay a content levy in Europe ft.trib.al/hKU8k0g | opinion
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Copyright is a property right given to people so that they can transact on fair terms with corporations. It’s also one of the foundational rights in the UDHR. Big tech epitomises corporate and global capital power. All the weakness of digital rights lobbying is displayed here.
Trying to fight big tech by making copyright stronger is like fighting viruses with gain-of-function research: lawfaremedia.org/article/wor…
Trying to stop VC and PE owned businesses being sold seems hopeful - the exit is the purpose of the business. In fact, it's something to celebrate - a music investment is nominated for the 'Exit of the Year' award at the @GPBullhound Allstars awards gpbullhound.com/events/allst…
Earlier this year I took a look at independence in music, and why it might not be so great if exits do get stymied by a community that relies on external funding to provide essential infrastructure and capability:
ratpie.org/2025/05/07/what-p…
This is probably disingenuous, and definitely absurd. If copyright owners can easy opt out, they can just as easily opt in, without needing their assets to be strip-mined from underneath them by some of the biggest and richest companies in the world.
How should UK copyright law apply to AI model training? The text and data mining (TDM) exception with opt-out for rights holders proposed by the government offers a balanced, workable approach
bit.ly/3XEQvdh
The application of UKcopyright law to AI training remains contested, causing uncertainty for artists, rights holders, AI developers and society at large. Bold, pragmatic solutions are thus needed to provide legal clarity, support the creatives and unlock investments
Unfortunately, the debate around AI & copyright is too often framed as a zero-sum game. This misrepresents both the challenge and opportunity before us. The real question is not whether AI will transform the creative industries (it already is) but how to make this transition beneficial for all stakeholders
A new report by the @InstituteGC argues that the UK can and should be home to both flourishing creative industries and cutting-edge AI development. The report also provides a holistic and detailed policy framework to achieve that end
The UK government’s proposal for a TDM exception with opt-out is a good starting point, but will require careful implementation to be effective in practice. Moreover, it is only part of the puzzle. To make the UK a leader in arts and AI, the government should also:
🌍 Strengthen international AI preference standards for rightsholders, to ensure that the opt-out mechanism is robust
🪟 Improve transparency across AI supply chains, incl. reasonable disclosures from AI developers about training data
👫 Establish standards for AI & creativity, incl. guidelines on how to distinguish between human and AI-generated works
💸 Increased support to creatives in the AI age, incl. more dedicated funding and the founding of a new Centre for AI & Creative Industries
Why does our analysis support this policy option over alternatives like 'do nothing' 'strengthening copyright' or 'a broad TDM exception'?
1) It's important to separate AI outputs from model training. While AI outputs should not be allowed to reproduce unlicensed copyrighted works, prohibiting AI model training on publicly available data would be misguided
2) Rights holders should have control of their data, hence the opt-out. But there are better ways to support creators than strict copyright laws, incl. support to hone skills, access resources and develop new business models
3) A whole-of-government approach is needed to deliver the AI Opportunities Action Plan. Restrictive copyright laws could push AI development out of the UK, undermining the Gov’s growth agenda
4) Stricter UK copyright laws would not prevent online data from being used to train AI elsewhere. Closing that loophole through extraterritorial enforcement could lead to AI tools not being accessible in the UK
5) Far from heralding the end of human creativity, AI presents new ways of being original. We should enable and celebrate all forms of expression
Credit to the author team: @ZandermannKL, @josephcbradley, @AmandaBrockUK & @MickGrierson – plus @FERNANDOGARIBAY for foreword!
Huge thanks also to all experts who provided comments on drafts (input ≠ endorsement) incl. @whoisgallifrey, @LeeTiedrich, @philiptorr, @lilianedwards, @Prorata_ai, @natejhake, @UKAIofficial, @KR21org, @ChrisMammenIP – and many others
This is a point that could be made more often and more forcefully. Songs do not help AI solve any problem other than how to make new songs without paying songwriters. A pump primed with theft will pump more theft, not pure drinking water for those without.
We expect governments to make sure we can trade our work fairly in open and well regulated markets. We do not expect government to side with global capital in its attempts to expropriate and alienate us from our creative work. I hope this deal is not yet done.
This speech by @JamesFrith in parliament yesterday is what it looks like to stand up for the creative industries. I hope the rest of the @UKLabour party takes note.
"Proposals for new, broad exceptions to copyright—and the burden of opting out of having one’s life’s work taken without permission—undermine the very principles of copyright and of trade and
commerce."
Strongly encourage watching the whole thing.
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Pop music has so many dimensions, and a surprising power to seek out and bring forward the best in all of us. My unbounded gratitude to Olya Polyakova for letting me feel part of a very special event this evening: instagram.com/p/DBmdscXCdWN/
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A great privilege to be able to play a small part in helping this animation reach and hopefully affect audiences around the world the world. Please do watch and allow yourself to be moved by this short film.
Thank you so much to @KateBushMusic and the team for making this moving short film to draw attention to children affected by conflict.
Please do consider donating if you can.
🔗 Watch the full film at: bit.ly/3BZnVv9
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The sentiment here is fine. In practice however clickthrough licences have already stripped millions of creators of their work. Regulators should step in to prevent unnatural tying between AI training and the provision of communications and media platforms.
We support the Statement on AI training, an open letter from thousands of musicians, artists, actors and other creators around the world.
Please sign: aitrainingstatement.org/
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When PIAS sold 49% of itself to UMG and UMG took a charge on its assets its executives remained welcome at indie trade associations, and I was told by a trade association head that this was 'a JV like any other'. Perhaps next time we can ask for more transparency.
To rely on behavioural controls seems naive to me. And anyway, who is the ‘we’ here who should decide? Harms from AI flow from a fundamental lack of respect for human creativity, multiplied by oversized pools of capital. Fix those upstream with strong copyright and attribution.
Yes, we should focus more on governance & less on technology per se. The rules for AI use will largely shape the contours of our future. What do we want it to look like? Do we want to allow mass exploitation, or shall we center consent? The answer is obvious, no?
@emollick
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Phenomenal musicianship - a privilege to host Akito Goto & Tyler Hay in the @state51 Factory to perform Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata youtu.be/9MLl5x_Yhh8?si=PQ-s… via @YouTube
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Much of this evil can be countered by stronger copyright & personal data rights. If freedom only means access to information and creative work we lose. A better definition of freedom for people using digital networks includes owning what you make and controlling your identity.
Presume this is all part of the cunning plan now that Hipgnosis has been bought by Blackadder…
Hipgnosis sues Barry Manilow over bonus payments via @FT
on.ft.com/3AlYq6p
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In a different world Microsoft and others deploy AI to reduce emissions rather than to displace musicians. « Microsoft’s emissions jump almost 30% as it races to meet AI demand » via @FT
on.ft.com/3QOOEix
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It’s a blast working with @dimash_official See you in Budapest soon!
At @state51 we are independent. That means no major label loans which can be converted to ownership at any time, and no VC or private equity interests that can sell us to major labels. The only way to protect independence in music is to be independent and work with independents.
It's a beautiful record. Thank you @KateBushMusic
RSD shops can order from their state51 Distribution accounts. distro.state51.com to find out more.
As part of her ambassador role, Kate Bush will release a special 10” Record Store Day edition of “Eat the Music” exclusively in independent record shops on Saturday 20th April: bit.ly/3SSOuHf
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Platforms should be required to offer RAND terms if they want to avoid direct liability as publishers. So many small businesses and individual artists will be excluded from markets and from justice by the lack of affirmative rights to trade.
