I wonder if the whole #AI thing will finally convince artists that modern #copyright regime was never meant to protect *them*.
It was meant to protect the middlemen. The Amazons, the Spotifies, the Sonys, the Disneys. The film studios, the publishing houses.
Now the middlemen figured out they own basically all of art, and that they can just train a computer on that, to replace artists with a piece of software.
And then stop paying artists even the pittance they were being paid so far.
🧵
Courtney Love hit the nail on the head years and years ago:
https://www.gerryhemingway.com/piracy
> Today I want to talk about piracy and music. What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work without any intention of paying for it. I'm not talking about Napster-type software. I'm talking about major label recording contracts.
Now the same companies that had cried "protect the artists!" to extend copyright over and over again are salivating at the thought of replacing artists with software.
Artists now realize they had signed the rights to their own work over to middlemen, who use that very work to try replacing them.
When they signed these contracts, often years ago, there was no talk of "AIs" able to "generate content". That was not even on the horizon.
"We have altered the deal. Pray we don't alter it any further."
Would they have signed these contracts if that was clearly stated in the terms? Well, if the WGA strike is any indication, I'd wager a bet the answer is "no".
I hope this becomes a wake-up call to all #artists, to all creative people out there — a wake-up call not just about #AI and automatically generated content, but also, and more importantly, about how urgently we need solid #copyright reform.
We had been needing it for decades, in fact.
#Art is not supposed to be hoarded by Disneys or Sonys, not supposed to be locked in corporate vaults. Art is more than just means of "maximizaing shareholder value".
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
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