An activist organization has claimed to have scraped millions of tracks from Spotify and is getting ready to release them online.
Potential Impetus for AI Training
Industry experts noted the apparent leak could boost artificial intelligence firms looking for data to train their technology.
An entity called Anna’s Archive said it had obtained 86 million audio tracks from Spotify and 256 million entries of associated data such as artist and record names. Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million songs, stated that the leak did not constitute its entire inventory.
“We have located and deactivated the malicious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” stated a company representative.
The Stockholm-based company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, added that an investigation into unauthorised access found a third party collected public metadata and used questionable methods to circumvent DRM [digital rights management].
Archive's Declared Mission and Concerns
The streaming service does not think the audio acquired by Anna’s Archive has been made public yet. Anna’s Archive, which is known for offering links to copyright-infringing books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘preservation archive’ for music.
They claimed the music files represented 99.6% of all music streamed to by Spotify users and would be distributed via ‘torrents’, a method of sharing large data files online.
“Naturally Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great beginning,” commented Anna’s Archive, which frames its purpose as “preserving humanity’s knowledge and culture”.
AI Training and Intellectual Property Debate
A composer and campaigner for protecting artists’ copyright, said the breached music would probably be utilized for developing artificial intelligence systems.
“Educating models on pirated data is sadly widespread in the AI industry, so this stolen music is highly likely to be used instructing AI models,” he stated.
The group's website makes references to LibGen, a vast online archive of copyrighted books that has reportedly been leveraged by Meta to train its AI models.
A founder of an artificial intelligence company posted on LinkedIn that members of the public could in principle “create their own personal free version of the service”. The executive said it could also allow tech companies to “educate models on modern music at scale”.
Copyright has become a key issue between artists, writers and creatives on one side and tech giants on the other.
Policy Considerations and Responses
In the UK, creative professionals have raised concerns against a government proposal to allow AI companies use copyright-protected work without permission unless the owner opts out. Virtually every respondent to a government call for evidence on the proposal has backed artists’ concerns.
A government minister for technology, research and technology told parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, adding that ministers would “use the time to get this correct”. The government has pledged to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by March 2025.
