February 28, 2025
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, is championing the need for regulated AI practices within the music industry. He recently published an op-ed in The Times, calling for “appropriate guardrails” to govern the use of AI technology.
This comes amidst the British Labour government’s proposed modifications to copyright laws, designed to enhance the UK’s competitiveness in AI development. One of the main changes is an “opt-out” system for the utilization of copyrighted works in AI training.
This proposal mirrors a component of the European Union’s extensive AI law and would permit AI developers to use copyrighted content by default, unless specified otherwise by the copyright holder. Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, an ethical AI certification non-profit, criticized this rule, asserting it “revers[es] the very principle of copyright law.” He was also the organizer of the recent “Silent Album” release, a collaboration of over 1,000 artists, including Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, and Annie Lennox, intended to protest the proposed adjustments in the UK.
In his Times column, Grainge described the silent album as “a warning against the impact of unchecked AI on the creative arts.” He highlighted the essential questions at stake:
“How do we best protect creative and imaginative invention, and harness the power of new technology without that technology harnessing us? How do we best protect the incentives that reward creative people for their labour and genius? And who wins or loses if we change the rules of the game?”
Grainge wasn’t dismissive of AI, even its use in music. He emphasized that technology’s potential is vast.
“By no means am I suggesting that AI is intrinsically negative. This extraordinary technology holds the potential to revolutionise scientific and medical research, enhance artistic creativity and make contributions to countless other areas that could materially improve our lives, ” he wrote. ” But technology itself can never know right from wrong; it is a tool to help us, to enrich us, yes, but only if we guide it with appropriate guardrails. The choices we make about AI now — ethical, legal and technological — will reverberate for decades to come.”
He observed that the music industry has always adapted, and is familiar with change, as an industry leader.
“During my long career, we have gone from vinyl to cassette to CD to MP3s to ad-funded streaming to subscriptions… But throughout all these innovations and disruptions one truth has remained constant: great music always flows from human creativity. This truth should continue to guide us, even in the age of AI.”
Recently, Grainge, alongside Rob Stringer, Chairman of Sony Music Group, and Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group, joined a Daily Mail-led campaign against the copyright proposals. News reports from The Guardian suggest that the campaign, along with the silent album protest, may have influenced the government’s plans. Reportedly, the government is contemplating revising its proposals by reducing or eliminating the “opt-out” principle. One potential outcome, as reported, could be limiting the “opt-out” clause to UK AI developers, requiring AI companies from the US and other regions to secure prior authorization to utilize copyrighted materials for training.
Another potential revision would allow creative industries to automatically opt out of AI training, while permitting mass media, like newspapers and television, to be used in AI training as a default, The Guardian reported.
Pressure is coming from within Parliament as well; the leaders of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee sent a letter to cabinet ministers urging the government to focus on improving transparency by AI companies.
Grainge closed his Times column by pointing out the UK’s history of innovation and the need for careful implementation of AI technology.
He stressed that, “progress” isn’t “never inevitable and technologies do go awry, usually due to unforeseen consequences, the abdication of moral responsibility or a failure of leaders to establish reasonable public safeguards.”
Grainge concluded his argument:
“AI will transform society, but how it transforms society is up to us. That’s why governments, industries and creators must work in harmony, seeking fairness and compromise to chart a path toward responsible AI.”
