A recent UK-wide survey has revealed that the vast majority of music fans want greater clarity and consent when it comes to the role of AI in music creation. Commissioned by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in partnership with AudienceNet, the research forms part of All About the Music 2025, the annual snapshot of the UK’s recorded music industry. 

Speaking to over 1,750 music listeners, the findings paint a clear picture: people still believe that human creativity lies at the heart of what makes music meaningful, and they’re concerned about how generative AI might threaten that.

Across the board, support for transparency and artist rights is overwhelming. More than four in five listeners believe that AI-generated music should be clearly labelled. A similar number feel that no artist’s work or vocals should be used to train AI systems without explicit permission. And most agree that AI systems should publish exactly what music has been fed into their models; a call for openness that echoes recent demands from within the music community itself.

This comes at a time when the UK Government is proposing controversial changes to copyright law, potentially allowing AI developers to scrape and use creative works – from songs to books and films – without asking permission or offering compensation. Creators could theoretically opt out, but experience in other countries suggests such systems are largely ineffective. The changes would mark a sharp break from the current legal protections that underpin Britain’s creative industries, which contribute £125 billion a year to the economy and employ more than 2.4 million people.

The findings align with growing resistance to these proposals, including vocal criticism from major artists like Paul McCartney and Kate Bush, as well as collective efforts like the Is This What We Want? protest album, supported by over 1,000 musicians. The message is clear: both artists and audiences want a fairer, more transparent approach to AI’s role in music. Initiatives like the Make It Fair campaign and high-profile support at the BRIT Awards have only amplified this sentiment.

According to the data, 83% of respondents believe human creativity is essential to the making of music, while over 80% value music made by people more than music made by machines. Two-thirds said they had no interest in AI-generated tracks that mimic their favourite artists, suggesting that imitation isn’t cutting it, even when it’s technically impressive.

BPI’s Chief Strategy Officer, Sophie Jones, says these results reflect public support for clear boundaries and ethical frameworks in the use of AI. “Britain’s music fans are adding their voices to the chorus of creators who want AI to develop responsibly,” she said. “We’re calling for transparency, for consent, and for copyright to remain strong – not weakened in favour of Big Tech.”

Composer and campaigner Ed Newton-Rex echoed these views, stressing that the public is on the side of artists. “This survey reinforces what the government must surely already know,” he said. “The public overwhelmingly supports the fair treatment of artists. The government should listen – and scrap its unfair proposals.”

At its core, this report underlines something that fans, musicians and independent scenes across the UK have always known: music isn’t just a product. It’s a deeply human expression, and people want it treated with the respect it deserves.