Australian Creatives Demand Albanese Government Holds Firm on Copyright Framework

Australian creatives have went to parliament to demand the Albanese Government holds firm on its existing copyright framework. 

Australian artists, authors, and creators gathered at Parliament House yesterday (July 1st) to call on the government to use its full weight to bring AI companies to the table for licensing agreements with Aussie creators. 

Those gathered at Parliament House included William Barton, Paul Dempsey, Warren H. Williams, Anna Funder, Mahalia Barnes, John Collins, Andy Griffiths, KLP, Francois Tetaz, Mark Seymour and Holly Rankin (Jack River) plus industry representatives from the Australian Recording Industry Association, Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society, Australian Society of Authors, Australian Writers’ Guild, Australian Publishers Association, Mushroom Group, Australian Music Publishers Association Ltd, Gyro, Association of Artist Managers, Copyright Agency and Free TV Australia.

Lucy Hayward, Australian Society of Authors, said, “Despite what tech might tell you, copyright is simple. If you want to use someone's work, you need to ask permission. And copyright is also how authors earn a living.

“Instead of coming to creators and rights holders to do deals, big tech is throwing money at lobbying in Canberra for solutions that would enable them to use creators' work in exchange for chump change. For all intents and purposes that's wage theft for the creative industries.”

Annabelle Herd, ARIA, said, “We are standing at Parliament House today, united across the creative and media industries, to ask the Government to hold the line it drew in October and let the licensing market function as it should.”

“Behind the written music that you hear online, whether you're in Australia or anywhere else, there is a very sophisticated, very official licensing system that ensures that the creator of that work and the rightsholder gets paid... We are here to do deals with AI companies — many deals are happening globally and those deals will continue to be announced, and that is the mechanism by which Australian creators and writers and authors and others will get paid.”

Mahalia Barnes, acclaimed singer/songwriter, said, “This is not just data. This is truly art. This is our culture, it's the essence of our nation... Artists can never be replaced by technology and AI because art is essentially about humanity."