Elton John, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and Florence Welch are among the over 400 artists who have signed a letter calling on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to update copyright laws in the face of A.I. technology.
“We, along with 400 other creatives, have signed and sent this letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to give Government support to proposals that would protect copyright in the age of AI,” Elton John wrote on social media. “This comes ahead of a crunch vote on the plans in the House of Lords on Monday 12th May.”
Paul McCartney, who previously lobbied for copyright law protections in a BBC interview earlier this year, also signed the letter, along with Kate Bush, Robbie Williams, and hundreds more musicians, actors, playwrights, directors, and artists.
“Creative copyright is the lifeblood of the creative industries. It recognizes the moral authority we have over our work and provides an income stream for 2.4 million people across the four nations of the United Kingdom,” the letter reads.
“The fight to defend our creative industries has been joined by scores of UK businesses, including those who use and develop AI. We are not against progress or innovation. The creative industries have always been early adopters of technology. Indeed, many of the world’s greatest inventions, from the lightbulb to AI itself, have been a result of UK creative minds grappling with technology.”
The signees have thrown their support behind the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which would require developers to be transparent with copyright owners about using their material to train AI models, the BBC reports. The bill was proposed by Baroness Beeban Kidron, with a vote set Monday in the House of Lords.
“The first job of any government is to protect its citizens,” the letter continued, adding that the bill would “put transparency at the heart of the copyright regime and allow both AI developers and creators to develop licensing regimes that will allow for human-created content well into the future.”
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This past December, artists, publishers, media companies and more banded together to form the Creative Rights in AI Coalition, which aims to keep the current copyright protections in place despite the U.K.’s continued courtship of AI technology
“We’re the people, you’re the government. You’re supposed to protect us. That’s your job,” McCartney said to lawmakers in a BBC interview earlier this year. “So if you’re putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you’re not gonna have them. If there’s such a thing as a government, it’s their responsibility — I would think — to protect young people to try and enhance that whole thing so it works. So that these people have got job and can enhance the world with wonderful art.”
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