MPA Welcomes House of Lords Committee Report Supporting Creator Licensing for AI

The UK has a choice to make: become a world leader in responsible, licensing-based AI, or sanction the use of our valuable creative IP to technology companies to train their models for free.

Today’s House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee report makes it clear that only the first path is viable for the UK’s future—and we strongly welcome their findings.

We are incredibly pleased to see that the Committee has listened closely to the creative industries. Many of the recommendations align with the core policies we continue to call for:

• No TDM exception: A firm rejection of the unworkable commercial Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception with an opt-out model. The Committee rightly dismisses the idea that AI ‘learns’ like a human, recognising that AI training involves making ‘perfect digital copies’ to create competing works at ‘superhuman speed and scale.
• Licensing as the default: A clear demand for a licensing-first regime. If AI models use creators’ work, they need a licence. Simple.
• Real transparency: A statutory obligation for tech companies to be honest about training data, label AI-generated content, and credit human creators.
• No border loopholes: The report identifies international training as the ‘elephant in the room’. If an AI service operates in the UK, it must play by UK copyright rules, regardless of whether the model was trained in a more permissive jurisdiction abroad.

Paul Clements, CEO of the Music Publishers Association, said: “At the heart of the music publishing industry are the songwriters and composers whose talent and commitment drive the sector forward. Their creativity has immense value, and their work must never be seen as fodder for tech platforms to exploit. We are incredibly pleased that the Committee has recognised the need to protect human artistry, and is calling for the government to rule out a text and data mining exception with an opt-out model. They make clear that we can embrace AI innovation, but that this must be done without sacrificing the rights of our creators. We join them in calling for the respect and support creators and rightsholders deserve.”

This landmark report reflects the unified message we heard earlier this week when, alongside The Ivors Academy, we brought together the music industry and policymakers at the House of Lords to discuss the future of music in this AI age.

The consensus in the room was clear: sustainable AI innovation must be built on a foundation that protects and fairly remunerates the human creators through licensing.

We aren’t asking the Government to rush, simply to make the right choices to protect our £7.6bn music industry, and we will continue to work with them to deliver tangible action that supports UK creators and rightsholders.

Read the full report at publications.parliament.uk