Interviewed on the BBC, the ex-Beatle once again criticized the Labor government’s plan to introduce changes to copyright law. Among them, “an exception to copyright” to train AI models for commercial purposes.
The project would also offer creators the possibility of “reserving their rights”.
Paul McCartney, 82, argues that with such reform, artists will lose control over their production. Concretely, he assures, “young people will write a beautiful song but they will not own it”. Worse, “anyone could appropriate it,” he denounces.
“The truth is that the money will go somewhere. Someone will get paid so why shouldn’t it be the guy who wrote ‘Yesterday’?“, he asked.
And added: “If you introduce a bill, make sure you protect thinkers and artists, otherwise you won’t have them on your side“.
“We are the people, you are the government. You are supposed to protect us. It’s your job“, he said again.
In November 2023, McCartney and Ringo Starr, the surviving members of the Beatles, used AI to extract John Lennon’s vocals from a decades-old unfinished song called “Now and Then.”
“I think AI is great and can do a lot of great things“, qualified Paul McCartney. However, she “must not rob the creators. This doesn’t make any sense“.
-“Competing” music
Same tone from another pop legend, Elton John. In the columns of the Sunday Times, the 77-year-old artist believes that the government’s reform project “will dilute” et “will threaten” even more the income of young artists.
“This will allow large global technology companies to freely and easily access artists’ works in order to train their artificial intelligence and create competing music“, he assured.
He states that allplayers in the music world are categorically opposed“to reform.
The government said it would use its consultation, which runs until February 25, to explore the main points of the debate, including how creators will be able to license and be paid for the use of their material.
Asked about these projects during an interview on the BBC, the Minister of Finance, Rachel Reeves, assured:want to support artists“and do everything”so that copyright is respected“.
And to add that “Without rigorous and robust copyright protection…the UK’s place on the world stage, as a leader in the arts and popular culture, will be under serious threat“.
