A new survey of UK music listeners by the BPI has revealed that music consumers believe that human creativity is fundamental to music, that music made solely by AI should be clearly labelled, and that music should only be ingested by AI systems when authorised.
More than 1,750 music consumers across the UK were asked about their views around AI and music as part of a nationally representative BPI and AudienceNet survey of listening habits, commissioned for BPI’s latest All About The Music 2025 recorded music yearbook.
The survey covers a number of topics that have been central to current debates and prompted criticism from artists including Paul McCartney, Elton John and Kate Bush, including generative AI and human creativity in light of the UK Government’s proposed changes to copyright law – which would make it legal for global AI firms to train generative AI models using the UK’s music, books, film and more, without the need for authorisation or compensation from the works’ creators or rights-holders. Some of the survey's findings include: 81.5% of respondents state that music generated solely by AI should be clearly labelled; 78.5% believe an artist's music or vocals should not be ingested or used by AI without permission from the artist or their record label; and over 80% value human-made music more than AI-generated music.
Britain’s music fans are adding their voices to the chorus of creators and creative businesses who want to see AI develop legally, respectfully and responsibly
Sophie Jones, BPI
These latest figures also echo global research carried out by the IFPI in 2023 – to date the largest survey of its kind – which found that 79% of 43,000 respondents across 26 countries felt that human creativity remains essential to the creation of music, with 76% agreeing that an artist’s music or vocals should not be used by AI without authorisation.
“Britain’s music fans are adding their voices to the chorus of creators and creative businesses who want to see AI develop legally, respectfully and responsibly,” said Sophie Jones, BPI chief strategy officer. “This research shows support for several of our key tasks, including that transparency should be an integral requirement for all AI models, that copyright must not be weakened to favour big tech as the Government proposes, and that music should not be used for AI training without authorisation from the creator or rightsholder. AI presents myriad opportunities for everyone in the music industry and consumers. Our music business members are innovating – as they always have – with new technology, and are ambitious to play their part in driving the UK’s growth agenda. But we can only realise this potential by securing our strong copyright framework, and by developing licensing partnerships that will enable creativity and AI to flourish together.”
Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, composer, and campaigner for AI companies to respect creators’ rights, commented: “This survey reinforces what the government must surely already know: the public overwhelmingly supports the fair treatment of artists by AI companies, and rejects the idea that their work should be handed to AI companies without their permission. It's vitally important that the government listens to the public, and to the creative community, and scraps its unfair proposals to weaken copyright law. It should represent the people, not big tech.”
The full details of BPI and AudienceNet/Audiomonitor survey findings are below.
Attitudes towards AI and Creativity (% net agree):
Human creativity is essential in the creation of music – 82.7%
Music generated solely by AI should be clearly labelled – 81.5%
Music created by humans is more valuable to me than music generated by AI – 80.1%
An artist's music or vocals should not be ingested or used by AI without permission from the artist or their record label – 78.5%
An AI system should clearly list any music that it has ingested or used for training – 72.7%
Governments should play a role in setting restrictions on what AI can do – 71.5%
I am not interested in AI-generated music which sounds like or impersonates my favourite artist – 64.3%
Music generated by AI without any human creativity should not get copyright protection – 61.4%
Artists should be able to use AI tools when they create music as long as the artist remains in control – 48.6%
