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An activist group has claimed to have scraped a vast number of songs from the popular streaming service and is getting ready to release them online.

Potential Impetus for Artificial Intelligence Training

Industry experts noted the apparent data breach could aid artificial intelligence firms looking for data to develop their technology.

A group known as Anna’s Archive reported it had obtained 86 million audio tracks from the platform and 256 million rows of metadata such as artist and album names. Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million songs, confirmed that the leak did not represent its entire catalog.

“We have located and deactivated the nefarious user accounts that were involved in unlawful scraping,” said a Spotify spokesperson.

The Swedish company, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, added that an inquiry into unauthorized access found a third party collected public metadata and employed illicit methods to bypass DRM [digital rights management].

Group's Declared Goal and Concerns

Spotify does not think the audio acquired by Anna’s Archive has been released yet. Anna’s Archive, which is recognized for offering links to copyright-infringing books, said in a blog it wanted to create a ‘historical repository’ for music.

They claimed the music files accounted for 99.6% of all music listened to by its listeners and would be distributed via ‘torrents’, a method of sharing large digital files online.

“Of course the service doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a fantastic start,” commented Anna’s Archive, which frames its mission as “safeguarding humanity’s knowledge and culture”.

Model Development and Copyright Debate

A composer and campaigner for defending artists’ rights, remarked the breached music would probably be utilized for training AI models.

“Training on illegally sourced material is sadly common in the AI industry, so this accessed music is almost certain to be used instructing AI models,” he stated.

The Anna’s Archive site makes references to LibGen, a vast online repository of copyrighted books that has allegedly been leveraged by the parent company of Facebook to develop its systems.

A founder of an artificial intelligence company wrote on the professional network that individuals of the public could in principle “build their own personal free equivalent of the service”. He added it could also allow tech companies to “educate models on modern music at a large volume”.

Copyright has emerged as a battleground between creatives, authors and creatives on one side and AI companies on the other.

Government Proposals and Responses

Across Britain, artists and writers have raised concerns against a government proposal to allow AI companies use copyright-protected work without permission unless the owner signals. Virtually every respondent to a government call for evidence on the idea has backed artists’ concerns.

The secretary of state for science, innovation and development informed parliament this month there was “little consensus” on the issue, noting that ministers would “take the time to get this correct”. The administration has pledged to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by March 2025.