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Over 1,000 artists from the UK have joined together to collectively release a silent album in protest against potential plans to change copyright law.
This comes as the government is closing a consultation today (February 25) which looks at possible legal changes.
The album, called ‘Is This What We Want?,’ features 12 tracks with the titles of each coming together to form a message – ‘The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies.’
A range of musicians and groups are involved including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and even composer Hans Zimmer.
https://t.co/iMGw9RQfZA#IsThisWhatWeWant? pic.twitter.com/H15mGDMtZu
— Kate Bush (@KateBushMusic) February 25, 2025
Over 1,000 artists are cited as taking part in Is This What We Want protest album
“In late 2024, the UK government proposed changing copyright law to allow artificial intelligence companies to build their products using other people’s copyrighted work – music, artworks, text, and more – without a licence,” the Is This What We Want website states.
“The musicians on this album came together to protest this. The album consists of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, representing the impact we expect the government’s proposals would have on musicians’ livelihoods.”
The profits generated from the album, which is on the usual streaming platforms, will be donated to the charity Help Musicians which supports people in the industry in work and retirement.
1000+ musicians have come together to release a silent album, protesting the UK government's planned changes to copyright law, which would hand the work of musicians to AI companies for free.
🔗https://t.co/5UEyi1tr5I pic.twitter.com/tkxuAb9QE7
— The FAC (@FeaturedArtists) February 25, 2025
In a statement reported by the BBC, a spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said on Tuesday that the UK’s “current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realizing their full potential – and that cannot continue”.
“That’s why we have been consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive.
“We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so.”
No decisions by the UK Government have yet been made.
This comes at the same time as a campaign focused on news publishers has launched, called ‘Make it Fair’ which targets the same concerns. This includes national, local and regional news brands in the UK banding together to raise awareness about “the existential threat posed to creative industries from generative AI models.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
