Former Beatle Paul McCartney warns of 'rip-off' AI copyright changes

Despite recently working with AI on the final Beatles track "Now and Then," McCartney made his position clear: "I think AI is great, and it can do lots of great things. But it shouldn't rip creative people off. There's no sense in that."

Music industry raises red flags

While the government promises "real control" and transparency for creators, critics say the proposed system puts an unfair burden on artists. They would need to track and object to each AI company individually - a process that typically benefits data collectors more than creators.

Tom Kiehl of UK Music says there's simply "no evidence that creatives can effectively 'opt out' of their work from being trained by AI systems and so this apparent concession does not provide any reassurance to those that work in music."

YouTube's recent approach might show a way forward. Their system lets creators choose which AI companies can use their content, and could eventually lead to systematic payment for training data. For this to work, however, it would require coordination across platforms and countries.

The courts are already getting involved. Major record labels in the U.S. are taking legal action against AI music generators, while Germany's Gema has sued Suno.ai and ChatGPT over song lyric usage.