Over 1,000 British Musicians Release Silent Album in AI Protest

More than 1,000 musicians have released a silent album in protest against the use of AI in the music industry, The Guardian reports.

The UK government is considering allowing tech companies to use copyrighted music without permission to train AI models. In response, musicians recorded "Is This What We Want?", an album filled with the sounds of abandoned recording studios, empty concert halls, and vacant stadiums—a symbolic representation of what they believe the future of the industry could look like under AI dominance.

The album’s tracklist forms a statement, spelling out: "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies."

The government’s proposal would hand over the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies for free, letting those companies exploit musicians' work to outcompete them," said British composer Ed Newton-Rex. It’s a plan that wouldn’t just be disastrous for musicians—it’s completely unnecessary. The UK can lead in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus.

Notable contributors to the silent protest include Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer, Gorillaz, Billy Ocean, Annie Lennox, and many others.