Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer, Damon Albarn Among 1,000+ Artists On 'Silent' AI Protest Album

Kate Bush, Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, Blur singer Damon Albarn, Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox, and another 1,000+ British artists have teamed up to release a new “silent” album in protest of AI.

The Guardian reports that the album was released yesterday (25 February) to coincide with the UK government's closing of a consultation regarding changes to copyright law. A waiver for AI firms was listed as the preferred option.

The album, Is This What We Want?, contains recordings from dormant recording studios and performance spaces. It is a music-free collection released in protest against a UK government proposal to allow AI firms to train their algorithms on already-released work by artists under a new copyright exemption.

According to reports, the plan will include an “opt-out” option for creatives and record companies to prevent the use of their work.

The album’s twelve tracks have one-word titles that spell out the artists’ demands: “The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies.”

Released as 1,000 UK Artists, Kate Bush reportedly cut one of the tracks in her studio. Other co-writers listed across the album include Hans Zimmer, Annie Lennox, Tori Amos, The Clash, Billy Ocean, Jamiroquai, Bastille, and more.

Bush commented about her motivation for the project, “In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?”

The idea for Is This What We Want? was established by British composer and former AI executive Ed Newton-Rex, who said:

The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians’ work to outcompete them.

It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary: the UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus.

The profits from the album will be donated to the musicians’ charity Help Musicians. You can listen to the album below.

Last year, more than 200 musicians banded together to speak out against the rise of artificial intelligence in songwriting – and the music industry as a whole – including Billie Eilish, The Cure’s Robert Smith, R.E.M., the estate of Bob Marley, Chappell Roan, Chase & Status, Jon Bon Jovi, Kacey Musgraves, Pearl Jam, and many others.