A thousand artists, including Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, and Annie Lennox, have united in protest against the UK government’s proposed copyright policies favoring artificial intelligence companies. Their weapon of choice? A silent album.
Titled Is This What We Want?, the project was conceived by British composer Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI company executive. The album is a direct response to government proposals that would allow AI companies to train their models on musicians’ work without compensation.
“This proposal hands over a lifetime of creative work to AI companies for free, letting them compete with us using our own music,” Newton-Rex stated. “It’s a disaster for artists and completely unnecessary—Britain can lead in AI without destroying its world-class creative industries.”
The album, featuring names like Hans Zimmer, Cat Stevens, Tori Amos, and members of The Clash, Radiohead, Bastille, and Jamiroquai, runs 47 minutes and 17 seconds. Each of its 12 tracks is titled with a single word, forming the message: The British Government Must Not Legalise Theft To Benefit AI Companies.
Released under the name 1000 UK Artists, Is This What We Want? is available on all streaming platforms, with proceeds going to the charity Help Musicians. The protest raises a powerful question: will the government listen?