As Australia considers rewriting its copyright legislation to accommodate artificial intelligence training, the nation has become a focal point for global creative industries. Major technology companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, have lobbied the federal government for changes that would permit them to train AI models using copyrighted material without prior consent. The music industry warns that granting these requests could trigger a catastrophic scenario for artists and rights holders globally.
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd previously stated that adopting the proposals as currently framed by Big AI would devastate the Australian music sector and isolate the country internationally. While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially assured the public in July that tech companies could not use protected works without consent, credit, or compensation, a joint parliamentary committee on AI later suggested in October that current laws were insufficient. Herd criticized this assessment as incorrect, arguing that existing Australian copyright law provides creators with necessary control and acts as a barrier against unchecked access by major American AI firms.
John Phelan, Director General of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), described the situation as a "vast landgrab." Representing 90% of commercially released music worldwide, ICMP asserts that tech companies must adhere to the same Australian and international laws as other entities that respect licensing rules. Phelan explained that the proposed opt-out system is unworkable and represents subordination disguised as sovereignty. He emphasized that the plan, developed in both Silicon Valley and Sydney, aims to allow the ingestion of global digital music for training purposes without proper clearance.
ICMP has compiled extensive evidence detailing copyright infringements by numerous tech giants, including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Adobe, Anthropic, OpenAI, Suno, Udio, and DeepSeek. The organization argues that these companies are operating on a "ask for forgiveness rather than permission" basis, engaging in stream-ripping on an unprecedented scale. This unlicensed access leads to illegal model training, dataset commercialization, and the circumvention of technical protection measures. Phelan noted that there is no legal or commercial barrier to training AI models legally, citing ElevenLabs as a successful example of a company seeking permission through an opt-in basis.
During recent engagements with the Australian government, ICMP demonstrated that even the Prime Minister's favorite songs and works by all 12 Australian orchestras had been illegally utilized. The organization is advocating for a four-pronged response involving legislative action, litigation, licensing, and technology adoption to filter infringements. Phelan stated that the goal is to refuse the demands of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Big Tech, shifting the focus toward strict enforcement of current laws. With the Australian parliament entering summer recess in late November, political maneuvering continues as rights holders work with key senators to prevent what they view as a potential historic copyright larceny.
Sources: Billboard.