Lack of consultation has turned potential allies into adversaries, but technology and the creative industries can work together.
Verity Harding, Director of the AIxGEO project at the Bennett Institute, writes an op-ed for the Financial Times on the effect the file-sharing website Napster had on the music industry, and the lessons for creative industries and artificial intelligence companies in the age of AI.
She discusses how in 1999, Shawn Fanning’s Napster revolutionised digital music, offering instant access to songs and customisable playlists. However, record labels, dismissing digital’s potential, sued Napster into bankruptcy, allowing piracy to thrive. Eventually, Apple’s iTunes capitalised on legal downloads, but labels lost out on iPod profits. Today, generative AI companies face similar conflicts over copyright, with artists demanding compensation for AI training data use. Both industries must learn from the past to avoid repeating mistakes.
“Creativity and technology have always gone hand in hand. The tech industry can learn from Napster’s hubris and meaningfully engage with creators. In turn, the creative industries can take their own lessons from the saga by reckoning sooner with the irreversible change that generative AI has brought and embracing the new technology.”
“The alternative is a repeat of the music industry’s lost decade — years of lawsuits and missed opportunities that benefited neither side. The best answer for today’s creative industries and AI companies is to try to build the future together. ”
Verity Harding, Bennett Institute for Public Policy
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
