Legendary musician Paul McCartney has warned against proposed changes to UK copyright law that would allow tech companies to freely train models on online content unless copyright holders actively opt out. .
In excerpts from an interview with the BBC, Mr McCartney said the government needed to do more to protect musicians and other artists.
“We are the people, you are the government!” he said. “You’re supposed to protect us. That’s your job. So if you’re going to pass a bill, make sure you protect creative thinkers and creative artists. If you don’t… We can’t protect them.”
McCartney isn’t necessarily opposed to the use of AI in music production. In fact, he used the technology last year to clean up old John Lennon demos and create what McCartney calls “the last Beatles record.” But he suggested that AI (at least AI with a looser approach to copyright) poses an economic threat to artists.
“Young men and women come along and they write beautiful songs, but they don’t own it and have nothing to do with it and anyone who wants can steal it,” McCartney said. .
“The money is going somewhere,” he added, adding that the financial rewards for creating a hit song should go to the artist, not just “some tech giant.” said.