Statement on behalf of UK Performing Arts CEOs on Copyright and artificial intelligence: Impact on creative industries

“We join with many in the creative community in expressing our concern about the government’s plans to diminish creative copyright by giving an exemption to AI companies. Our community of highly skilled creative workers depend on a fragile ecosystem of freelance creatives, many of whom rely on copyright to sustain their practice, and most of whom have spent many decades honing their craft.

“As leaders of creative institutions, we embrace advances in technology. We are not separate from innovation but rather participants in its practical applications and the philosophical and moral questions it raises. We are concerned that the government proposals risk undermining agency and participation in the new world of AI rather than supporting the moral and economic rights of our creative community to their work. As such we ask the government to underline a creative person’s automatic right to their work and ask that the government support transparency duties on AI companies.

“The sheer wonderment of world class music, drama, dance and opera is essential to the joy of being human. We urge the government to support the human creative endeavour at its heart.”

Signatories:

Birmingham Rep – Rachael Thomas
Birmingham Royal Ballet – Paul James
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Dougie Scarfe
Bristol Beacon – Simon Wales
Bristol Old Vic – Charlotte Geeves
Britten Pears Arts – Andrew Comben
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – Emma Stenning
Donmar Warehouse – Henny Finch
English National Ballet – Anu Giri
English National Opera – Jenny Mollica
ICA – Bengi Unsal
Garsington Opera – Nicky Creed
Glyndebourne – Richard Davidson-Houston
Leeds Playhouse – Shawab Iqbal
London Philharmonic Orchestra – David Burke
London Symphony Orchestra – Kathryn McDowell
National Theatre – Kate Varah
Northern Ballet – David Collins
Talawa Theatre Company – Carolyn ML Forsyth and Michael Buffong
The Old Vic – Laura Stevenson
Theatre Royal Plymouth – James Mackenzie-Blackman
Opera North – Laura Canning
Rambert – Helen Shute
Roundhouse – Marcus Davey
Royal Albert Hall – James Ainscough
Royal Ballet and Opera – Alex Beard
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – Michael Eakin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Sarah Bardwell
Royal Shakespeare Company – Daniel Evans, Tamara Harvey, Andrew Leveson
Sadlers Wells – Sir Alistair Spalding
St George’s Bristol – Samir Savant
Southbank Centre – Elaine Bedell
Tiata Fahodzi – Chinonyerem Odimba
Warwick Arts Centre – Doreen Foster
Young Vic – Lucy Pattison