An activist organization has claimed to have harvested a vast number of tracks from Spotify and is getting ready to release them online.
Possible Impetus for AI Training
Observers said the seeming data breach could boost AI companies looking for material to develop their technology.
An entity called Anna’s Archive said it had obtained 86 million music files from the platform and 256 million entries of metadata such as performer and album names. Spotify, which carries more than 100 million tracks, stated that the leak did not represent its entire catalog.
“We have identified and deactivated the malicious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” stated a company representative.
The Swedish company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorised access identified a external actor scraped public metadata and employed questionable tactics to circumvent DRM protections.
Archive's Declared Goal and Concerns
The streaming service does not think the audio acquired by Anna’s Archive has been released yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for providing links to copyright-infringing books, wrote in a blog it wanted to create a ‘historical repository’ for music.
They asserted the music files represented 99.6% of all music listened to by its listeners and would be distributed via ‘peer-to-peer networks’, a means of exchanging large data files online.
“Of course Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start,” commented Anna’s Archive, which describes its mission as “safeguarding humanity’s knowledge and heritage”.
AI Training and Copyright Battleground
Ed Newton-Rex for defending artists’ copyright, said the leaked music would probably be utilized for developing AI models.
“Educating models on pirated data is sadly common in the tech sector, so this accessed music is highly likely to end up instructing AI models,” he said.
The Anna’s Archive site makes references to LibGen, a vast online archive of pirated books that has reportedly been used by the parent company of Facebook to develop its systems.
The co-founder of an AI startup posted on LinkedIn that individuals of the public could in principle “create their own private free equivalent of the service”. He added it could also allow technology firms to “educate models on modern music at scale”.
Copyright has become a key issue between creatives, writers and content creators on one side and AI companies on the other.
Government Considerations and Responses
Across Britain, artists and writers have protested against a government proposal to let AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the owner signals. Almost every participant to a government consultation on the proposal has supported artists’ apprehensions.
A government minister for science, innovation and technology told parliament this month there was “little consensus” on the matter, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this correct”. The government has pledged to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by next year.
