Jimmy Page has hit out against the position of Artificial Intelligence in music and the arts in the wake of new proposals from the UK Government.
The Led Zeppelin legend's passionate statement on the dangers that artificial intelligence poses to the music industry come as the UK Government ends its public consultation on the Data (Use and Access) Bill.
It was set up back in October 2024 to help create a legal framework around the use of AI, which today can create fairly convincing music in the style of existing artists in an instant. Naturally, that has become problematic for an industry that generates around £7.6 billion (approx. $9.6 billion) for the UK economy every year.
The proposal from the UK Government concerns an opt-out system that allows AI to use existing music as part of its learning and creation process, unless an artist explicitly states otherwise. In those cases, their music would not be available to AI technology.
Page, though, says this system – which works oppositely to the UK’s current opt-in system for the processing of personal data for things like email mailing lists – is fundamentally flawed.
Using his pre-Zeppelin career as a session musician as a bedrock to his argument, he says: “I was required to create and conjure riffs and lyrical figures immediately without slowing down the momentum of the work being recorded with the other musicians and the artist.
“This journey from the anonymity of session work to the global stages with Led Zeppelin was not a path paved by algorithms or data sets. The alchemy that transformed a unique riff into an anthem was etched into the collective soul of the band – a synergy that no machine can emulate.
“Today,” his statement continues, “as artificial intelligence seeks to mimic and monetize creativity, we stand at a crossroads. AI-generated art and music, synthesized from existing human works, lack the visceral essence that comes from lived experience. They are but hollow echoes, devoid of the struggles, triumphs, and soul that define true artistry.
“Moreover, the ethical implications are profound. When AI scrapes the vast tapestry of human creativity to generate content, it often does so without consent, attribution, or compensation. This is not innovation; it’s exploitation.
“If, during my session days, someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI.”
He’s also weighed in on the “profound” ethical implications that AI currently presents.
“When AI scrapes the vast tapestry of human creativity to generate content,” Page adds, “it often does so without consent, attribution, or compensation. This is not innovation; it's exploitation.”
But his statement is not all doom-mongering as he looks to find some solutions, too. He says the UK Government “must champion policies that protect artists, ensuring that their work isn’t siphoned off into the void of machine learning without due regard”.
By doing so, he concludes that “we safeguard not just the rights of artists, but the very soul of our cultural heritage”.
AI is proving to be a highly divisive topic across the music industry. Many are embracing it, such as Alex Van Halen, who wants to use AI to create authentic-sounding Eddie Van Halen solos, while Jimi Hendrix's producer, Eddie Kramer, has hinted that a similar approach could be employed to add to the late guitar hero’s legacy in a new way.
Those moves follow the surviving Beatles members using AI to create one more Fab Four hit, which won a Grammy for its troubles.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 British musicians have put their names to a silent album entitled This What We Want? to protest against AI using their work.
Paul McCartney, who has seen both sides of the AI coin, has backed the movement after telling the BBC that proposed law changes would create a “Wild West” world where an artist's copyright is not properly protected.
“You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it,” he said. “If you're putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not going to have them.”
However, AI has also presented positives to technology in the guitar world, with Positive Grid's Spark 2 amp using AI to turn prompts into guitar tones and an auto-generating AI overdrive pedal also catching the eye. The possibilities AI can provide to guitar tuition have been hyped as “immense” by an experienced tutor.
You can read Jimmy Page’s impassioned statement in full below.
