🔗 Share this article Activist Collective Claims to Have Extracted Millions of Audio Files from the Streaming Giant A digital rights organization has claimed to have scraped a vast number of songs from Spotify and is preparing to publish them publicly. Potential Impetus for AI Development Industry experts noted the apparent data breach could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to develop their technology. A group called Anna’s Archive reported it had scraped 86 million audio tracks from the platform and 256 million entries of metadata such as artist and album names. The company, which hosts more than 100 million songs, confirmed that the breach did not represent its full catalog. “We have identified and deactivated the malicious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping,” stated a Spotify spokesperson. The Swedish company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorized access identified a external actor scraped public metadata and used illicit methods to circumvent DRM protections. Archive's Stated Goal and Worries The streaming service does not believe the audio taken by Anna’s Archive has been made public yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for offering links to copyright-infringing books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘preservation archive’ for music. The group asserted the audio files accounted for 99.6% of all music streamed to by its listeners and would be distributed via ‘peer-to-peer networks’, a method of exchanging large data files online. “Of course the service doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a fantastic beginning,” said Anna’s Archive, which frames its purpose as “preserving humanity’s knowledge and culture”. AI Training and Copyright Debate Ed Newton-Rex for protecting artists’ rights, remarked the leaked music would likely be utilized for training artificial intelligence systems. “Training on illegally sourced data is sadly widespread 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 reportedly been leveraged by Meta to develop its AI models. The co-founder of an AI startup posted on the professional network that members of the public could in principle “build their own private free equivalent of Spotify”. The executive added it could also enable tech companies to “educate models on contemporary music at a large volume”. Copyright has emerged as a battleground between creatives, writers and creatives on one side and AI companies on the other. Government Considerations and Responses Across Britain, creative professionals have raised concerns against a government proposal to let AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the rights holder signals. Almost every respondent to a government consultation on the idea has backed artists’ apprehensions. A government minister for technology, research and development 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 March 2025.