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A digital rights organization has claimed to have harvested a vast number of songs from the popular streaming service and is preparing to publish them online.

Potential Boost for AI Training

Observers said the seeming data breach could boost artificial intelligence firms searching for data to train their technology.

An entity known as Anna’s Archive reported it had obtained 86 million audio tracks from Spotify and 256 million entries of associated data such as performer and record names. The company, which carries more than 100 million songs, confirmed that the leak did not represent its full inventory.

“We have identified and disabled the malicious user accounts that were involved in illegal scraping,” stated a Spotify representative.

The Swedish service, which has more than 700 million users worldwide, further explained that an inquiry into unauthorized access found a third party collected public metadata and used illicit methods to circumvent DRM protections.

Archive's Declared Mission and Worries

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

The group asserted the music files represented 99.6% of all music listened to by its listeners and would be shared via ‘peer-to-peer networks’, a method of sharing large digital files online.

“Naturally Spotify doesn’t have all the music in the world, but it’s a great start,” said Anna’s Archive, which describes its purpose as “safeguarding humanity’s information and culture”.

AI Training and Copyright Debate

A composer and campaigner for protecting artists’ rights, remarked the leaked music would likely be utilized for developing artificial intelligence systems.

“Training on pirated data is sadly widespread in the AI industry, so this accessed music is almost certain to end up training AI models,” he said.

The Anna’s Archive site makes references to LibGen, a huge online archive of pirated books that has reportedly been used by Meta to develop its systems.

A founder of an AI startup posted on the professional network that members of the public could in principle “create their own private free equivalent of Spotify”. He added it could also allow technology firms to “train on modern music at scale”.

Intellectual property law has become a key issue between artists, authors and creatives on one side and AI companies on the other.

Government Proposals and Reactions

Across Britain, artists and writers have protested against a government proposal to let AI companies utilize copyright-protected work without consent unless the rights holder signals. Virtually every respondent to a government consultation on the idea has backed artists’ apprehensions.

The secretary of state for technology, research and technology told parliament this month there was “no clear consensus” on the issue, adding that ministers would “take the time to get this right”. The government has committed to make regulatory plans on AI and copyright by March 2025.