The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) has warned that Australia is the only country among dozens of nations being approached to relax copyright law that is seriously considering a change. The warning comes after the organisation discovered that artificial‑intelligence systems have been trained on the works of Australian artists, including Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave, without any compensation to the rights holders.
The ICMP, which represents major labels Sony, Warner and Universal as well as thousands of independent publishers across six continents, said that tech firms are “strong‑arming” governments to weaken copyright protections. It has raised concerns that such pressure could undermine the revenue streams that fund new music.
According to the ICMP, the Australian government has been cautioned against yielding to these demands. The body highlighted that the country is the only one in a global survey of 30+ nations that is currently considering easing the legal framework that protects artists’ works.
While the Guardian article does not detail specific legislative proposals, the ICMP’s statement underscores the growing tension between the music industry and the tech sector over the use of copyrighted material in training machine‑learning models.
Industry stakeholders will be watching closely as the Australian government weighs the potential impact on artists, publishers and the broader creative economy. The ICMP’s warning signals a broader debate about the balance between technological innovation and the protection of creative rights.
<small>Source: The Guardian — read the original story there.</small>
