A digital rights organization has stated to have scraped millions of tracks from the popular streaming service and is preparing to release them online.
Possible Impetus for AI Development
Industry experts noted the apparent leak could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to train their models.
An entity called Anna’s Archive said it had obtained 86 million music files from Spotify and 256 million entries of associated data such as performer and album names. The company, which carries more than 100 million songs, stated that the leak did not represent its entire catalog.
“We have located and deactivated the malicious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” said a Spotify spokesperson.
The Swedish company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, added that an investigation into unauthorised access identified a third party collected public metadata and employed illicit tactics to circumvent DRM [digital rights management].
Group's Declared Goal and Concerns
Spotify does not think the music taken by Anna’s Archive has been made public yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for providing links to copyright-infringing books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘preservation archive’ for music.
They asserted the music files accounted for 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 frames its mission as “safeguarding humanity’s information and heritage”.
Model Development and Copyright Battleground
Ed Newton-Rex for defending artists’ rights, remarked the leaked music would probably be used for developing AI models.
“Training on illegally sourced material is unfortunately widespread in the AI industry, so this accessed music is highly likely to be used instructing AI models,” he said.
The Anna’s Archive site alludes to LibGen, a huge online repository of copyrighted books that has allegedly been used by Meta to develop its AI models.
A founder of an AI startup wrote on LinkedIn that members of the public could in principle “create their own private free equivalent of the service”. The executive added it could also allow technology firms to “train on contemporary music at scale”.
Copyright has emerged as a key issue between creatives, writers and creatives on one side and tech giants on the other.
Government Proposals and Responses
In the UK, creative professionals have protested against a government suggestion to let AI companies utilize protected work without consent unless the rights holder signals. Almost every participant to a government call for evidence on the proposal has supported artists’ concerns.
The secretary of state for technology, research and technology told parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the matter, adding that ministers would “take the time to get this right”. The administration has pledged to make policy proposals on AI and copyright by next year.
