And one has to wonder how it is that all these organisations have joined the Creatives’ Rights Alliance at the same time. Should we be reporting that to the competition authorities?
Nicola Solomon, lately departed Chief Luddite at the UK’s Society of Authors, is now claiming to speak on behalf of 500,000+ creatives through the newly formed Creatives’ Rights Alliance.
Dictating terms to the AI companies that she obsesses over, Solomon this week issued the following statement:
“Creators’ Rights Alliance and the creators they represent do not authorise or otherwise grant permission for the use of any of their works protected by copyright and/or related rights (including performers’ rights) in relation to, without limitation, the training, development, or operation of AI models, including large language models, diffusion models, generative, or other any other AI products, unless the creators have specifically agreed [to] licensing arrangements.”
Signatories to the Creatives’ Rights Alliance letter, reports Porter Anderson over at Publishing Perspectives, includes “the Association of Authors’ Agents; the Association of British Science Writers; the Association of Illustrators; the Association of Photographers; the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society; the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies; the British Equity Collecting Society; the Design and Artists Copyright Society; Directors UK; British Equity; the Featured Artists Coalition; the Ivors Academy; the Music Managers Forum; the Musicians’ Union, the National Union of Journalists; the Picture Industry Collecting Society for Effective Licensing; the Royal Photographic Society; the Society of Authors; Society of Artists Agents; and WGGB, the Writers Guild of Great Britain.”
An impressive list that, if Solomon is to be believed, collectively embraces over a half million creatives. And Solomon has now appointed herself spokesperson for every one of them.
Not that Solomon’s record with numbers is that inspiring. This, after all, is the person who assured us almost half of writing jobs would be lost to AI. More on that below.
But numbers are just one part of Solomon’s tenuous grasp of reality.
This will be the same Nicola Solomon that, in October 2023, was so “deeply concerned” about the streaming deals between Spotify and publishers.
“Authors and agents have simply not been contacted, let alone reassured. The fact that all major publishers have entered such arrangements at the same time seems to raise questions that perhaps should be reported to the competition authorities.”
As a member of three of the above-mentioned organisations that have gathered under the broad umbrella of the Creatives’ Rights Alliance, I can safely say I have not once been asked my views on this topic or if I wish Solomon to make demands to AI companies on my behalf.
And one has to wonder how it is that all these organisations have joined the Creatives’ Rights Alliance at the same time. Should we be reporting that to the competition authorities?
Just to add here that, of course, Solomon made no referral to any competition authority. She was happy to just float another negative out there in the AI-debate area and let it do its mischief, knowing full well the comment had no validity.
Soundbites are easy, Nicola. And cheap. The Society of Authors has a clear duty to report any anti-competitive behaviour impacting authors, and dressing it up with the caveat “perhaps” simply demonstrates what a stupid argument it was to put forward.
But the key point here is that the fact that these organisations have, in good faith, signed up to the broad agenda of Solomon’s latest attempt to keep publishing in the dark ages, because there are legitimate concerns about AI use and compensation of IPs, does not confer any authority on Solomon to dictate to AI companies the terms and conditions on behalf of every member of those organisations.
Especially when the “letter” the CRA is sending out specifies two clear examples where AI companies must consult authors and other creatives.
One rule for AI. Another for Nicola.
But then, hypocrisy and meaningless soundbites are Solomon’s stock in trade.
It seems like only last November, 2023, Solomon was telling us how 43% of writing jobs would be lost to AI. How many jobs have actually been lost, Nicola? Funny how these baseless claims are never followed up.
That would be the November 2023 immediately after October 2023, when Solomon screamed, without a shred of evidence, that the Spotify audiobooks deal would “have a devastating affect on authors.“
I’m looking forward to seeing that claim justified with clear evidence. Nicola perhaps, you can pop that in the post along with the permissions forms (3, as I’m in 3 of the organisations that make up the CRA), so you can speak on my behalf about what I want AI companies to do or not do.
And don’t forget to alert the competition authority!
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsletter.
