400 UK Artists Urge Starmer to Back Baroness Kidron's AI Copyright Amendment Ahead of Lords Vote

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Updated May 10, 2025, 05:14 PM

More than 400 UK artists and creatives, including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Dua Lipa, Sir Ian McKellen, Florence Welch, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Coldplay, have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging the government to strengthen copyright protections against the use of their work by artificial intelligence systems. The letter calls on the government to back an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, proposed by Baroness Beeban Kidron, which would require AI developers to be transparent with copyright owners about the use of their material for AI training and support the development of licensing regimes. A key vote on the amendment is scheduled in the House of Lords on Monday. A similar open letter was previously sent to the US president. Artists warn that without such protections, the UK's status as a creative leader is at risk, and creators could lose control and fair compensation for their work. The government has stated it is consulting on measures to balance the interests of creative industries and AI companies, and will not implement changes without ensuring protections for creators. Julia Willemyns, co-founder of the Centre for British Progress, has expressed opposition, arguing that restrictive copyright rules could harm UK innovation and the economy. Meanwhile, SoundCloud has updated its terms of service to allow the company to use user-uploaded audio to inform, train, or develop AI, though it states it has not yet used artist content for generative AI training and will provide opt-out mechanisms if it does so in the future. The company says it has implemented technical safeguards, including a 'no AI' tag, to prevent unauthorized use, and that music from major labels is exempt from AI training under current agreements.

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