3 Count: Sound of Silence

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1: Artists Release Silent Album in Protest at AI Copyright Proposals

First off today, Paul Glynn at the BBC reports that more than 1,000 musicians have released a silent album to protest planned changes in the United Kingdom’s copyright law.

If enacted, the changes would give tech companies a broader berth to train AI systems on copyright-protected content, including music. This has resulted in an intense backlash from various UK creatives, who say the government is ignoring artist concerns to favor large tech companies.

Over 1,000 artists have signed on to the album, including Kate Bush, The Clash, Jamiroquai, Billy Ocean and Radiohead. The album includes all blank tracks, though a video version features footage of empty recording studios. The titles of the album’s tracks spell out, “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.”

2: Isaac Dunbar Added to Songwriting Credits on Olivia Marsh’s ‘Backseat’ After Plagiarism Allegations

Next up today, 윤승진 at Korea Joongang Daily reports that singer-songwriter Isaac Dunbar has been added to the songwriting credits of Olivia Marsh’s Backseat following allegations of copyright infringement.

Dunbar had accused Marsh of infringing his 2019 song Onion Boy. Marsh’s agency, MPLIFY, examined the allegations and found that they had merit. As such, they reached out to Dunbar and agreed to give him songwriter credit on the Marsh song.

Backseat was released on Marsh’s debut album, Meanwhile, on February 13. Marsh is the sister of NewJeans member Danielle, making this a highly anticipated release among K-pop fans.

3: VPN Providers Consider Exiting France Over ‘Dangerous’ Blocking Demands

Finally, today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that some virtual private network (VPN) providers are considering leaving France as rightsholders in the country look to expand site-blocking provisions to include VPN providers.

In France, as with many other countries, rightsholders can petition courts to block allegedly infringing websites. Historically, those blocking orders have only targeted ISPs, DNS providers and other intermediaries. However, a new request seeks to add VPN providers to that list.

Many of the larger DNS providers, through a coalition they are a member of, say that they might exit the market rather than comply with such an order. They say such orders could harm security protections and create a dangerous precedent that could harm users.

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