Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) CEO, Annabelle Herd, today issued the following statement in response to comments made by Scott Farquhar earlier this afternoon at the Australian Financial Review’s AI Summit in Sydney:
“Scott Farquhar is selling out Australian creators at today's AFR AI Summit, and in doing so he’s making it blatantly obvious he has no idea how copyright law and the licensing market work.
“Mr Farquhar’s claim that you can't train AI in Australia without signing a deal with every recording artist on earth is nonsense. The music industry is built on global licensing deals done efficiently and at scale. You could license around 80% of the world’s sound recordings to train AI globally – including in Australia – with four deals: one with each major record label, and one with Merlin, a global organisation that represents independent record labels (including Australian independent labels like Mushroom Music),” she said.
“Global AI licensing deals between AI and technology companies and major and independent record labels are already happening. You don't need a million signatures.
“Mr Farquhar also seems to want to rip up the Berne Convention which is the foundation of the international copyright system that has kept Australian IP globally valuable and competitive since the 20th Century. If this is indeed the smartest technology presented in human history, it makes no sense as to why it deserves exemptions that no technology before has required to be successful,” Ms Herd continued.
“But Scott Farquhar wants the Albanese Government to ignore the facts and carve Australia out of the global licensing framework for AI use, by handing over free and full access to Australia’s music, books, films, art, First Nations culture, and journalism for AI companies to monetise and exploit however they choose without permission or fair payment.
“A country that is home to one the world's great creative and media cultures – worth $67 billion annually – will not rewrite its copyright laws on the advice of the people who stand to profit most from dismantling them. Mr Farquhar, you do not decide how to monetise or use an artist’s music for AI. That is the prerogative of the artist and copyright owner. Just like tech companies decide who uses their products and what they pay for it.”
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