Kate Bush and Damon Albarn among 1,000 artists on silent AI protest album

Paul McCartney, Elton John, Abba's Björn Ulvaeus, the actor Julianne Moore and the authors Val McDermid and Richard Osman are among the celebrities who have called for protection of their work from unlicensed use by tech companies in recent months. The music-free album represents the impact on artists' livelihoods if the government pushes ahead with its plans, according to Ed Newton-Rex, the British composer and former AI executive behind the idea. "The government's proposal would hand the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians' work to outcompete them," he said. "It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary: the UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." The plan includes "an opt-out" option – where creatives and companies can block their work from being used – that has been dismissed by critics as unfair and unworkable.