Elton John and Paul McCartney want to protect UK artists from AI

Legendary British musicians Paul McCartney and Elton John have urged the UK government to protect creative artists from AI as ministers are consulting on possible changes to copyright laws.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the UK government unveiled a wide-ranging action plan to boost the country’s role in developing and deploying AI. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has endorsed it and says he expects “incredible change.”

However, one of the plan’s key points recommends changing the UK’s laws for copyright, a legal protection against someone’s work being used without permission.

In the context of AI development, this would mean allowing AI firms to use copyrighted material. Sure, the latter would have to give copyright holders the ability to opt out, but the creative industry is already up in arms, and now, legends such as McCarney and John have joined in.

They both question how artists will opt out of all of the many different AI firms’ generative programs or monitor what’s happening with their work online.

John told The Sunday Times he felt the “wheels are in motion to allow AI companies to ride roughshod over the traditional copyright laws that protect artists’ livelihoods.”

According to the 77-year-old veteran, “This will dilute and threaten young artists’ earnings even further.” John added for good measure that “the musician community rejects it wholeheartedly.”

McCartney, a member of The Beatles, also spoke out against changes to copyright laws, telling the BBC: “When we were kids in Liverpool, we found a job that we loved, but it also paid the bills.”

“You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it,” said McCartney.

“They don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.”

“The truth is, the money's going somewhere. Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote Yesterday?” added McCartney, urging the UK government to protect artists.

The Creative Rights in AI Coalition, a campaign group formed in December 2024 by organizations including the Society of Authors, the Publishers Association, the Association of Illustrators, and the Association of Photographers, has already urged the UK government to update the action plan, which is throwing the creative industry “under the bus.”

“Under the government's proposed opt out system, the assumption will be that any work can be used to train AI models unless the creator opts out. How this can be implemented is unclear, whereas current copyright law is very straightforward,” the group said in a release.

“Without transparency from AI companies, artists can't prevent work scraped from the internet from being used.”

Instead, the coalition wants the onus to be on generative AI developers to seek permission and engage with rights holders to agree licenses.

“Just as tech firms are content to pay for the huge quantity of electricity that powers their data centers, they must be content to pay for the high-quality copyright-protected works which are essential to train and ground accurate generative AI models,” said the group.