Sir Paul McCartney urges UK Government to rethink copyright reform amid AI concerns
Who stands to gain
Sir Paul McCartney has called on the UK government to reconsider changes to copyright and artificial intelligence (AI) laws that could leave artists at a disadvantage.
The UK is debating how to build trust between creative professionals and the growing AI sector. At the center of these consultations is a bill that would allow AI developers to use creators' content to train their models, unless rights holders choose to opt out.
This issue concerns not only musicians, but also writers, who have called for AI companies to be held accountable for using their copyrighted material to train AI models.
Recently, a group of authors filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that the social media company unlawfully used their books to train its large language model, Llama. According to The Guardian, new court documents reveal that Meta executives were allegedly aware of the use of pirated copyrighted books for AI training.
Meanwhile, some publishers and media organizations have reached agreements with AI companies, allowing their content to be used for model training.
Who stands to gain?
Legendary Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney has voiced concerns that AI could "rob" artists if the UK government implements the proposed copyright law reforms. Like many others, he believes the current bill makes it difficult for artists to notify all AI developers not to use their content for training purposes.
According to the BBC, an alternative proposal advocating for creators' consent and explicit permissions will be introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Kidron, a cross-party member of Parliament.
However, UK Music CEO Tom Kiehl criticized the government's plans, stating that they could harm the music industry, which contributes over £120 billion to the UK economy.
“The government's plan to change copyright laws to make it easier for AI companies to use music by artists, composers, and music companies without their permission poses a huge risk to the music industry,” said Kiehl.
A complicated relationship between AI and creativity
In November 2023, Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr used AI technology to extract the late John Lennon’s vocals from a 1977 home demo, creating the song Now and Then.
The track, heralded as the final Beatles release, received widespread acclaim and earned nominations for two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award.
Despite this, McCartney now fears that the proposed copyright law changes could strip writers and artists of incentives, ultimately leading to a "loss of creativity."
As we wrote, Meta Platforms announced plans to significantly boost capital expenditures to $60–$65 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from the estimated $38–$40 billion in 2024.
