‘Dangerous Step Backwards’: Independents Weigh In On Proposed AI Exceptions In Copyright Act

AIR’s Maria Amato talks on day two of 2025 Indie-Con

Proposed amendments to the Copyright Act that would allow big tech to exploit creative works without permission or payment would be a “dangerous step backwards.”

That’s the warning from Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), as the music industry continues to digest the Productivity Commission’s interim report, Harnessing Data and Digital Technology.

Published last week, the 116-page document recommends a new fair dealing exception to allow for text and data mining. 

AIR unequivocally stands against any new proposed AI exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968.

“The current copyright regime is fit for purpose and does not need exceptions to serve AI development that would strip Australian creators of their rights and jeopardise their ability to earn a living,” reads a statement from the trade association.

As a sector, “we welcome new legislation in the field of AI, but this interim report misses the mark,” the statement continues. “We urge the government not to go down this route and risk generative AI replacing human labour in all creative fields so that we can continue to enjoy the unique contributions artists make to our lives.”Earlier, the Senate Select Committee’s final report last November on AI highlighted the urgent need for guardrails to protect intellectual property. The Australian music business widely welcomed its findings and recommendations, which included the implementation of a credentialing system for AI-generated content; transparency from tech platforms; and targeted regulatory reforms to prevent the misuse of AI in the creative industries.

 “We commend the previous Senate’s report on AI,” adds AIR CEO Maria Amato, “which rightly recommended that the Australian government require AI developers to be transparent about their use of copyrighted works in training datasets and ensure that this use is properly licensed and compensated. This is the kind of forward-thinking leadership Australia needs to protect and champion its creative community.”

Unleashing AI on the creative space was explored in granular detail in APRA AMCOS’s award-winning AI and Music Report, which found that, without urgent regulation, the widespread copying and reproduction of music by generative AI platforms could lead to a 23% loss in music revenues within just four years, amounting to an estimated $519 million.

ARIA, APRA AMCOS, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO) and others have warned that those suggested tweaks to the Copyright Act were a damaging exercise for the creative community, one that would “legitimise digital piracy under guise of productivity.”

Midnight Oil frontman and former Labor frontbencher Peter Garrett didn’t mince his words on the topic. Speaking with The Australian, Garrett rounded on the recommendations as “shameful,” while ARIA Award winners Missy Higgins and The Presets’ Julian Hamilton have joined the chorus, calling out the proposed exception.