UK Music response to Technology Secretary visit to US to see AI firms 20 Mar 2025
Responding to Technology Secretary Peter Kyle’s visit to the States to meet tech firms, UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl said:
"We fully support the ambition to make the UK a global hub for investment and expertise in Artificial Intelligence.
"However, Government's plans to make unwanted changes to our gold-standard UK copyright law would give tech firms free access to train their AI robots on all the greatest British music from acts ranging from The Beatles and Ed Sheeran to Dua Lipa and Adele - without having to pay or ask for permission.
"These deeply flawed plans to give a free ride to US tech giants by letting them steal our music would be disastrous for everyone who works in the UK music industry, and would trump our creative industries which contribute £126 billion to our economy.
"We must not allow the Government to use our world-leading music and creative industries as a sacrificial lamb in their efforts to cosy up to the tech bosses of Silicon Valley.”
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THE HEADLINES
Omdia tips music publishers’ revenues to hit $10bn this year (see Reports)
Unit1 Studio launches offering potential for immersive avatar concerts through lower production costs (see Digital)
Are we still in the music business? When your POV is worth more than your mp3s (see Opinion)
Is rock’n’roll dead? (see Features)
Book extract: Body Of Work: How The Album Outplayed The Algorithm And Survived Playlist Culture (see Comment)
With MTV channels switching off, is the music video under threat? (see Features)
Spotify partnering with multinational music companies to develop ‘responsible’ AI products (see Digital)
Sam Fender wins 2025 Mercury Prize (see News)
Spotify working on ‘SongDNA’ feature that showcases the people behind tracks (see Digital)
How far should cultural boycotts go? (see Features)
How Subvert is building a co-op owned Bandcamp alternative (see Digital)
Lucian Grainge outlines UMG’s strategy for generative AI partnerships and product development (see News)
The future of music streaming: Change or be changed (see Comment)
Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? (see Features)
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl discusses the company's “tremendous catalogue” (see Features)
There’s a £1 idea that could save small music venues. Is Live Nation holding it back? (see Features)
Breaking down the arguments around VMG’s Downtown Music acquisition (see Analysis)
Vevo report shows how fandom turns passion into impact and purchasing power (see Reports)