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A digital rights organization has claimed to have harvested a vast number of tracks from the popular streaming service and is preparing to publish them online.

Potential Impetus for Artificial Intelligence Development

Observers noted the apparent leak could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to develop their models.

A group called Anna’s Archive reported it had scraped 86 million audio tracks from Spotify and 256 million entries of metadata such as performer and album names. Spotify, which carries more than 100 million tracks, stated that the breach did not represent its full catalog.

“We have identified and deactivated the malicious user accounts that engaged in illegal scraping,” said a Spotify representative.

The Stockholm-based service, which has more than 700 million users worldwide, added that an investigation into unauthorised access found a external actor collected public metadata and used questionable tactics to bypass DRM [digital rights management].

Archive's Stated Mission and Concerns

Spotify does not think the music 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 ‘historical repository’ for music.

The group asserted the audio files accounted for 99.6% of all music listened to by its listeners and would be shared 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 fantastic start,” commented Anna’s Archive, which frames its purpose as “safeguarding humanity’s information and culture”.

Model Development and Intellectual Property Debate

Ed Newton-Rex for protecting artists’ rights, said the leaked music would likely be used for developing AI models.

“Training on pirated material is sadly widespread in the AI industry, so this stolen music is almost certain to end up instructing AI models,” he stated.

The Anna’s Archive site alludes to a large online archive, a vast online archive of pirated books that has reportedly been leveraged by the parent company of Facebook to develop its AI models.

The co-founder of an artificial intelligence company wrote on LinkedIn that members of the public could in theory “build their own private free equivalent of the service”. He said it could also allow tech companies to “train on contemporary music at a large volume”.

Copyright has become a battleground between creatives, authors and content creators on one side and AI companies on the other.

Government Proposals and Reactions

Across Britain, artists and writers have protested against a ministerial suggestion to let AI companies use protected work without consent unless the rights holder opts out. Almost every participant to a government call for evidence on the idea has supported artists’ concerns.

The secretary of state for science, research and technology told parliament this month there was “little consensus” on the matter, adding that ministers would “take the time to get this right”. The administration has committed to make policy proposals on AI and copyright by March 2025.