Activist Collective Claims to Have Scraped Countless of Music Tracks from Spotify
An activist group has claimed to have scraped a vast number of tracks from the popular streaming service and is preparing to publish them online.
Possible Impetus for AI Training
Industry experts noted the seeming data breach could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for material to train their models.
A group called Anna’s Archive said it had scraped 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, confirmed that the breach did not represent its full inventory.
“We have identified and deactivated the nefarious user accounts that engaged in illegal scraping,” stated a Spotify spokesperson.
The Swedish company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an investigation into unauthorised access found a third party collected public metadata and employed illicit methods to circumvent DRM protections.
Archive's Declared Goal and Concerns
Spotify does not believe the music taken 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 ‘preservation archive’ for music.
The group claimed the audio 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.
“Naturally the service doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great beginning,” commented Anna’s Archive, which describes its mission as “preserving humanity’s knowledge and culture”.
AI Training and Intellectual Property Debate
A composer and campaigner for defending artists’ rights, remarked the leaked music would likely be utilized for training AI models.
“Training on illegally sourced material is unfortunately widespread in the AI industry, so this accessed music is almost certain to be used instructing AI models,” he stated.
The group's website makes references to LibGen, a huge online repository of copyrighted books that has allegedly been used by the parent company of Facebook to develop its systems.
A founder of an artificial intelligence company wrote on the professional network that members of the public could in principle “create their own private free equivalent of the service”. The executive said it could also allow tech companies to “train on modern music at scale”.
Copyright has become a battleground between artists, writers and creatives on one side and tech giants on the other.
Government Considerations and Responses
In the UK, creative professionals have protested against a government suggestion to allow AI companies use copyright-protected work without permission unless the rights holder signals. Almost every participant to a government consultation on the proposal has backed artists’ concerns.
A government minister for technology, research and technology told parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this correct”. The administration has committed to make policy proposals on AI and copyright by next year.
