If you have ever wondered whether AI has been stealing from your favorite Aussie artists, the answer appears to be yes. According to a report by The Guardian, the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) says AI models have already learned from songs by Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave, and neither artist saw a cent for it.
Why is Australia in the spotlight?
Here’s the twist. Tech companies have reportedly asked dozens of governments to relax their copyright rules for AI, and Australia appears to be the lone country giving the request a second look.
John Phelan, who heads the ICMP, didn’t hold back. Speaking to Guardian Australia, he accused AI firms of asking lawmakers to “legitimise larceny.” He added, “They’re trying to strong-arm Australian policymakers into ‘if you don’t do this, we won’t invest’.”
This comes just months after Anthony Albanese took a firm stance. In July, he called it “theft” if creators couldn’t decide whether AI learns from their work or how much they earn from it.
Is the government having second thoughts?
Australia’s creative industries have long feared that tech giants were quietly lobbying for looser rules. Those fears gained weight this week when lawmakers from both sides on a parliamentary AI committee brought the topic back up, calling it a deadlock.
Their argument is that AI models in the US already learn from copyrighted material without creators getting paid. Meanwhile, the companies building the most advanced AI models won’t train them in Australia unless local copyright laws change.
If Australia gives in, it would be the odd one out among all the countries tech firms approached. For artists like Kylie, that could mean their hits keep feeding AI without a royalty check in sight.
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