A digital rights group has claimed to have harvested a vast number of tracks from Spotify and is getting ready to release them online.
Possible Boost for AI Training
Industry experts noted the apparent leak could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to develop their models.
A group known as Anna’s Archive reported it had obtained 86 million music files from the platform and 256 million entries of associated data such as performer and record names. The company, which hosts more than 100 million tracks, confirmed that the breach did not represent its entire inventory.
“We have located and deactivated the malicious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping,” stated a company representative.
The Stockholm-based service, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, added that an investigation into unauthorised access found a external actor collected public metadata and employed questionable tactics to circumvent DRM [digital rights management].
Archive's Declared Goal and Concerns
The streaming service does not believe the music taken by Anna’s Archive has been made public yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for providing links to pirated books, wrote in a blog it wanted to create a ‘historical repository’ for music.
The group claimed the audio files represented 99.6% of all music listened to by Spotify users and would be shared via ‘torrents’, a means of exchanging large data files online.
“Of course the service doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start,” said Anna’s Archive, which frames its mission as “safeguarding humanity’s information and heritage”.
AI Training and Copyright Debate
A composer and campaigner for protecting artists’ rights, remarked the breached music would likely be utilized for training AI models.
“Educating models on illegally sourced material is sadly widespread in the AI industry, so this accessed music is almost certain to be used instructing AI models,” he said.
The group's website makes references to a large online archive, a huge online archive of pirated books that has reportedly been leveraged by Meta to train its systems.
A founder of an artificial intelligence company wrote on LinkedIn that members of the public could in theory “create their own private free equivalent of Spotify”. He said it could also allow technology firms to “train on contemporary music at a large volume”.
Intellectual property law has become a key issue between artists, authors and creatives on one side and tech giants on the other.
Policy Considerations and Reactions
In the UK, artists and writers have raised concerns against a ministerial suggestion to let AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the owner opts out. Almost every participant to a government consultation on the proposal has backed artists’ concerns.
A government minister for science, research and development informed parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this right”. The government has committed to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by next year.
