British celebrities beat AI companies lobbying to get free use of their work. They have a warning for Australia

If you want to state the case against copyright reform in Australia, get Kylie Minogue’s phone number. If there is one lesson to be learned from a similar battle in the UK, high-profile members of the creative industries make a difference. They get your argument on the front of newspapers, in the news bulletins and on social media. In the face of this onslaught, the UK government backtracked on plans to let AI firms use copyright-protected work without permission. The many artists who put their name to various l…

By the Truvace deskOctober 16, 20262 min read1 sourceJournalismTRV-2026-1552· cite & verify

British celebrities beat AI companies lobbying to get free use of their work. They have a warning for Australia

In brief

In the UK, a campaign by prominent musicians, actors and writers, combined with parliamentary amendments pushed by Beeban Kidron, pressured the government to retreat from a plan allowing AI firms to use copyright-protected work without permission. In March, the then technology secretary said the opt-out proposal was no longer the preferred option.

The article presents this as a warning for Australia, where similar copyright reform is being weighed. It matters because it shows how creative-industry pressure can shape AI policy, but the UK has no new copyright policy yet, and tech-industry voices still dispute how fair the debate was.

Main points

Elton John, Paul McCartney, Björn Ulvaeus, Julianne Moore and Thom Yorke were among artists who joined letters and protests against the reforms.
Ed Newton-Rex organised a silent album backed by more than 1,000 musicians and an empty book with 10,000 writers' names.
Polling cited in the article found seven in 10 UK adults support royalties for copyright holders whose work trained AI models.
Techn industry representatives argue rights holders dominated the debate, while still favouring a win-win model with compensation.

The gain

A coordinated campaign by artists and authors led the UK government to drop its preferred opt-out model for letting AI firms train on copyright-protected work, protecting creators' bargaining position.

The rundown

The UK campaign mixed celebrity visibility with legislative tactics. Kidron pushed amendments that would have spiked the plans and helped organise celebrity opposition, while Newton-Rex staged creative stunts such as the album Is This What We Want? and the book Don't Steal This Book.

Pierre Andrews, a former Conservative culture-policy adviser, said Labour's mistake was thinking it could persuade the creative industries to go along, and he foresees a similar U-turn in Australia. Kidron urged Prime Minister Albanese not to sell Australian creatives down the river.

The tech side, represented by techUK's Antony Walker, said the government framed the initial consultation poorly and called the debate one-sided. The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has yet to set out a new copyright policy.