AI models have already swallowed Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave’s catalogs without paying a cent, and the Australian government is being pressured to make it legal.
The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) claims tech giants are strong-arming Canberra to weaken copyright laws. If Australia caves, it becomes the only nation among dozens to surrender its creative rights for algorithmic training.
Legitimising Larceny
John Phelan, ICMP’s managing director, didn’t mince words. He told Guardian Australia that AI firms are asking policymakers to “legitimise larceny.” The threat is clear: invest here, or leave. “They’re trying to strong-arm Australian policymakers into ‘if you don’t do this, we won’t invest,’” Phelan said. It’s a blunt ultimatum that ignores the fact that the music is already in the machines.
Proof in the Lyrics
The industry insists it doesn’t train on Australian content due to local laws. The data says otherwise. ICMP evidence shows Google’s Gemini can reproduce lyrics from Minogue, G-Flip, and Cave. A dataset reported by The Atlantic contains over 12 million songs pulled from YouTube, including tracks by Hilltop Hoods. Phelan noted that while 62 countries have considered legal changes, not a single other nation has introduced a commercial text-and-data mining exception. “The world is very much watching what Australia does,” he warned.
Political Stalemate
Parliament is stuck. A joint letter from Labor’s Jo Briskey and Liberal’s Jonathon Duniam recommends examining copyright settings, but only if creators keep control and get paid. Independent senator David Pocock suspects the outcome is already decided, citing suspicious edits to the letter. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s envoy Jeffrey Bleich argues you can’t license the entire internet. OpenAI’s Adam Cohen points to US fair use laws as a shield. The AI sector is desperate for a legislative off-ramp to avoid costly litigation. Australia is now the pressure valve for the global tech industry’s copyright headache.
Source: Guardian World
This article was compiled by the IndiaBBCNews editorial system from verified international news sources. Facts have been independently reviewed. Original reporting: Guardian World.
