From Kate Bush to Annie Lennox, over 1,000 artists collaborated on releasing a silent album in response to copyright AI law changes proposed by the British government. The album features 12 tracks of ambient sounds taken from empty recording studios and other performance spaces, and their titles spell out: “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies”. All profits from the album are going to the charity Help Musicians.

The planned changes to copyright law imply that artificial intelligence platforms could use copyrighted material without needing a license to train their models, unless right holders choose to “opt-out”. From this perspective, many artists have spoken up about how harmful these changes could be to their careers, and how the “opt-out” option wouldn’t be a viable solution either – it is a process that takes a lot of time and resources, and doesn’t ensure that all of the music is protected. Right holders would have to apply the same process for each piece of their work, so protecting an entire career worth of music can and will result in an overwhelming and virtually impossible task.  

In December 2024, more than 11,000 musicians – including Paul McCartney and Kate Bush – signed a statement against the rise of artificial intelligence in music. 

The album as a concept 

Each of the tracks on Is This What We Want? features three to four minutes of ambient sounds taken from empty recording studios and other performance spaces, which are seemingly put “raw” in the album. There is no audible editing except for a little fade-out, which keeps a very real atmosphere where we can hear footsteps, breathing, keyboard clicks, chewing, and other noises. 

As a concept, this silent album is quite loud. It sends a clear message: the rise of the use of artificial intelligence in music doesn’t predict a very bright future for creatives. Particularly, Nick Cave stated in an interview with The Australian that: “It intends to completely sidestep the sort of inconvenience of the artistic struggle, going straight to the commodity, which reflects on us, what we are, as human beings, which is just things that consume stuff. We don’t make things anymore. We just consume stuff. It’s frightening”. That belief is at the core of this album: to show a world where creative spaces are inhabited, to create an uncanny and almost post-apocalyptic image of a world without humans who create. 

Art as a form of activism through history

Through time, humans have used art as a means to convey ideas and feelings and reflect the world around them through their eyes. This is particularly relevant when we think of the role of artistic expression in political matters. Over the course of history, artists have expressed themselves and their political views through their work and have used them to add to specific ideas or challenge contexts. 

Art has always played an essential role in shaping societies. Protest art, in particular, has aided in bringing about change and shifting paradigms.

When it comes to visual arts, a modern example of protest art is Banksy’s work. Looking back in time, we can remember Pablo Picasso’s Guernica – a painting that reflects the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Visual expression has proven to be impactful in ways that go far beyond words. But when it comes to words, poetry, literature, and music take a vital role in protesting against the status quo. 

The topic of “protest music” is so wide it deserves an article of its own, for there is plenty of research about its origins and many forms. 

Dating back to the 18th century, protest songs have been a way to empathise with social causes, adding to them or denouncing unfair situations. Is This What We Want? is the crystallisation of centuries of music made to shift social structures and bring about political change. What’s special about it is its performative character: a musical album that has no music in it, and everything that means. Further back, protest songs found prominent voices in artists like Bob Dylan – although some authors discuss he never really did protest music – Cat Stevens, and Joan Baez. Bob Dylan is one of the best-known protest singers of all time
(Credit: Heinrich Klaffs)

Throughout history, writing protest songs could cause artists to be censored and even deported. Through the 60s and 70s in Argentina, during the military coup, many artists used their voices to protest against the military government. Musicians like María Elena Walsh, Charly García, Mercedes Sosa, and Luis Alberto Spinetta were exiled because of their lyrics, and their music was censored and prohibited. In response, many artists chose to hide political messages in their lyrics to protest about the country’s extremely violent reality.

When it comes to words, poetry and literature have also proven to be powerful ways to convey impactful ideas. Raw, meaningful, and profound, poetry has always been an ally to defend social causes. In our recent history, it is worth mentioning the works of authors like Silvia Plath when it comes to feminist literature, and Maya Angelou’s poetry and autobiographies exposing the reality of racial segregation. 

Is This What We Want? is one of the latest and loudest forms of protest art. It is hoped that its meaning and its repercussions will be as impactful as its performance and that it will inspire other art forms and artists to use their voices as well. 

Is This What We Want? is available to stream now.