A digital rights organization has claimed to have scraped a vast number of tracks from Spotify and is getting ready to release them online.
Potential Impetus for Artificial Intelligence Development
Industry experts said the apparent leak could aid artificial intelligence firms looking for data to train their technology.
A group called Anna’s Archive reported it had scraped 86 million music files from the platform and 256 million rows of metadata such as performer and record names. The company, which carries more than 100 million tracks, stated that the leak did not represent its full inventory.
“We have identified and deactivated the malicious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping,” stated a Spotify representative.
The Swedish service, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an investigation into unauthorised access identified a third party scraped public metadata and used illicit methods to bypass DRM protections.
Group's Declared Goal and Concerns
Spotify does not believe the music taken by Anna’s Archive has been made public yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for offering links to pirated books, wrote in a blog it wanted to create a ‘historical repository’ for music.
The group claimed the music files accounted for 99.6% of all music streamed to by Spotify users and would be shared via ‘torrents’, a means of exchanging large data files online.
“Naturally Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start,” commented Anna’s Archive, which frames its mission as “safeguarding humanity’s information and culture”.
AI Training and Copyright Battleground
Ed Newton-Rex for protecting artists’ rights, said the breached music would likely be used for training AI models.
“Training on illegally sourced material is unfortunately common in the AI industry, so this stolen music is almost certain to end up instructing AI models,” he stated.
The group's website makes references to LibGen, a vast online archive of pirated books that has allegedly been used by the parent company of Facebook to develop its AI models.
A founder of an artificial intelligence company posted on the professional network that members of the public could in principle “create their own personal free version of the service”. He added it could also allow technology firms to “educate models on modern music at a large volume”.
Copyright has become a key issue between artists, authors and creatives on one side and tech giants on the other.
Policy Proposals and Responses
Across Britain, creative professionals have protested against a government suggestion to allow AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the owner signals. Almost every participant to a government consultation on the idea has supported artists’ apprehensions.
A government minister for science, research and technology informed parliament this month there was “little consensus” on the matter, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this correct”. The government has committed to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by next year.
