The protest comes from across the British music scene and includes major artists such as Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush.

As a joint manifestation, over 1000 artists are behind the album "Is This What We Want?", which contains only the sound of silence.

The album is released in protest against the UK government's proposed changes to copyright law.


AI-friendly law erodes artists' works

At the end of 2024, the UK government proposed changing copyright law to allow artificial intelligence companies to build their products using other people's copyrighted works; music, text, artwork and more - without a licence.

If passed, the law could make it harder for artists to retain control over their own works and labour and could undermine the UK's creative industries. Artists such as Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan.


Danish artists support their British colleagues

Fortunately, the EU has created a directive that regulates the use of AI more than the UK legislation would, the so-called AI act. But it's far from enough and right now, regulation is under pressure from an aggressive political climate against anything called regulation and protection of rights.

The Danish Artist Association fully supports the protest of the British artist and musician colleagues and is actively working through international organisations and Organisations to find solutions to artificial intelligence and machine learning challenges.

Chairperson Sara Indrio sees the bill as a very serious encroachment on artists' rights over their own works:

"Music and special artistic expressions are created by artists and musicians, and these works should be protected by law, despite the fact that we can all agree on the many benefits of new technological possibilities. If new technology is given unfettered access to train and exploit artistic work, the creative control of artists will be eroded and in the worst case scenario, rights and the value of the works will be erased. Getting solid and proper framework conditions in relation to AI-created music is a high priority for the Danish Artist Association and the other music organisations - and we have good collaborations across Europe on the technological pressure on music rights right now."


Anbefaling: Indsæt tekst, der beskytter dit indhold

Dansk Artist Forbund recommends making reservations for text and data mining on their own websites, blogs, media, channels, etc. where there is protected material such as music, videos, photos, texts or similar. Read more about protection

About the protest album Is This What We Want?

  • The album consists of recordings of empty studios that represent the impact government proposals could have on artists and musicians' livelihoods
  • The release was made "to symbolise what we expect will happen if the government's proposals go through," says composer Ed Newton-Rex, who organised the album.
  • Read more about Is This What We Want