An activist organization has stated to have harvested millions of tracks from Spotify and is getting ready to release them publicly.
Potential Boost for AI Training
Observers said the apparent leak could boost artificial intelligence firms looking for data to train their models.
A group called Anna’s Archive reported it had scraped 86 million music files from Spotify and 256 million entries of associated data such as performer and record names. The company, which carries more than 100 million songs, confirmed that the leak did not constitute its full catalog.
“We have identified and disabled the malicious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” said a Spotify representative.
The Swedish service, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorised access identified a external actor collected public metadata and employed questionable tactics to bypass DRM protections.
Archive's Declared Mission and Worries
The streaming service does not believe the audio acquired by Anna’s Archive has been released yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for providing links to copyright-infringing books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘preservation archive’ for music.
They claimed the music files represented 99.6% of all music listened to by its listeners and would be shared via ‘peer-to-peer networks’, a means of exchanging large data files online.
“Naturally the service doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a fantastic beginning,” commented Anna’s Archive, which describes its mission as “preserving humanity’s information and culture”.
Model Development and Copyright Battleground
Ed Newton-Rex for defending artists’ copyright, remarked the breached music would probably be utilized for training AI models.
“Educating models on pirated material is sadly common in the tech sector, so this accessed music is highly likely to be used training AI models,” he said.
The group's website makes references to LibGen, a huge online repository of pirated books that has reportedly been leveraged by Meta to train its AI models.
A founder of an AI startup wrote on LinkedIn that individuals of the public could in theory “create their own private free version of the service”. The executive said it could also allow technology firms to “train on contemporary music at scale”.
Copyright has emerged as a key issue between creatives, writers and creatives on one side and AI companies on the other.
Government Proposals and Responses
In the UK, artists and writers have protested against a ministerial suggestion to allow AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the owner opts out. Almost every respondent to a government consultation on the proposal has backed artists’ apprehensions.
A government minister for science, research and development told parliament this month there was “little consensus” on the matter, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this correct”. The government has pledged to make policy proposals on AI and copyright by next year.
