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A digital rights organization has stated to have scraped millions of tracks from Spotify and is preparing to release them online.

Possible Boost for Artificial Intelligence Training

Industry experts noted the seeming data breach could aid artificial intelligence firms searching for material to develop their models.

An entity known as Anna’s Archive said it had scraped 86 million music files from the platform and 256 million rows of associated data such as performer and record names. Spotify, which carries more than 100 million songs, confirmed that the leak did not constitute its full catalog.

“We have located and deactivated the nefarious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” said a company representative.

The Stockholm-based service, which has more than 700 million subscribers worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorized access found a third party collected public metadata and used illicit tactics to bypass DRM [digital rights management].

Group's Stated Goal and Worries

The streaming service does not think the audio taken by Anna’s Archive has been released 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 music files accounted for 99.6% of all music streamed to by its listeners and would be shared via ‘torrents’, a means of sharing large digital files online.

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

Model Development and Copyright Debate

A composer and campaigner for protecting artists’ rights, said the breached music would likely be utilized for developing AI models.

“Training on pirated data is sadly widespread in the tech sector, so this accessed music is highly likely to be used instructing AI models,” he stated.

The group's website alludes to LibGen, a vast online repository of pirated books that has allegedly been used by the parent company of Facebook to train its systems.

The co-founder of an artificial intelligence company wrote on the professional network that individuals of the public could in theory “create their own personal free equivalent of the service”. The executive said it could also allow technology firms to “train on contemporary music at scale”.

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

Government Proposals and Responses

In the UK, artists and writers have protested against a government proposal to allow AI companies use copyright-protected work without consent unless the rights holder signals. Virtually every participant to a government call for evidence on the proposal has backed artists’ concerns.

A government minister for technology, research and development informed parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, noting that ministers would “use the time to get this right”. The government has committed to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by next year.