A digital rights organization has claimed to have harvested a vast number of songs from Spotify and is getting ready to publish them online.
Possible Boost for AI Training
Industry experts said the apparent data breach could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to train their technology.
A group known as Anna’s Archive said it had obtained 86 million music files from Spotify and 256 million entries of associated data such as artist and record names. Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million tracks, stated that the leak did not represent its full catalog.
“We have located and deactivated the nefarious user accounts that engaged in illegal scraping,” stated a company representative.
The Stockholm-based service, which has more than 700 million users worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorised access found a external actor collected public metadata and used illicit tactics to bypass DRM [digital rights management].
Archive's Stated Goal and Concerns
Spotify does not think the audio acquired by Anna’s Archive has been released yet. Anna’s Archive, which is known for offering links to pirated books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘historical repository’ for music.
The group claimed 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 means of exchanging large digital files online.
“Of course Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start,” commented Anna’s Archive, which describes its mission as “preserving humanity’s information and culture”.
Model Development and Copyright Debate
Ed Newton-Rex for defending artists’ rights, said the breached music would probably be used for developing AI models.
“Educating models on pirated material is unfortunately widespread in the AI industry, so this accessed music is almost certain to end up training AI models,” he stated.
The group's website makes references to LibGen, a vast online archive of pirated books that has reportedly been used by Meta to train its AI models.
The co-founder of an AI startup wrote on the professional network that individuals of the public could in principle “build their own private free version of the service”. He added it could also allow tech companies to “train on contemporary music at a large volume”.
Copyright has emerged as a key issue between artists, writers and creatives on one side and AI companies on the other.
Policy Considerations and Reactions
Across Britain, artists and writers have protested against a government proposal to allow AI companies use copyright-protected work without permission unless the owner signals. Almost every participant to a government call for evidence on the proposal has supported artists’ apprehensions.
A government minister for science, innovation and technology told parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, adding that ministers would “take the time to get this correct”. The government has pledged to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by next year.
