America News Agency

The album, titled "Is This What We Want?", features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, which leading cultural figures claim reflect the future of the music industry if changes to copyright law go ahead.

Among the celebrities calling for protection of their works from unauthorized use by tech companies are Paul McCartney, Elton John, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, actress Julianne Moore, and authors Val McDermid and Richard Osman.

According to British composer and former AI executive Ed Newton-Rex, the music-free album represents the impact the government’s plans could have on artists' livelihoods.

"The government’s proposal means that the lifelong work of British musicians will be handed over for free to AI companies, allowing them to use musicians’ creativity to gain a competitive edge," Newton-Rex said.

"This won’t just be a disaster for musicians, but it’s also an entirely unnecessary plan: the UK can be a leader in AI without destroying its creative industries."

The project is a protest against the government’s proposal to allow AI firms to train their algorithms on creative professionals' works under a new copyright exemption. Critics have denounced the plan as unfair and unworkable, offering only an "opt-out" option for creators to block their works from being used.

The album contains 12 tracks, with more than 1,000 artists credited as co-writers, though the names of individual contributors are not listed. However, it has been confirmed that Kate Bush recorded one of the tracks in her own studio.

Bush posed the question: "Will our voices remain unheard in the music of the future?"

Among the co-writers of the album are Tori Amos, Billy Ocean, Clash, and Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, alongside the classical music family Kanneh-Mason.

The tracklist includes the message: "The UK government must not legalize music theft for the benefit of AI companies."

Proceeds from the album, available on streaming platforms such as Spotify, will be donated to the Help Musicians charity, which supports musicians.