Sir Elton John collected the Creators’ Champion Award at Billboard’s Global Power Players event in London on Wednesday (June 4) and used his speech to warn the U.K. government that “we will not back down” in relation to its controversial AI data bill.
Joined by his manager and husband David Furnish, John was awarded the inaugural trophy by Billboard editor-in-chief Hannah Karp in recognition for standing up for the creative industry and calling for fair usage and protections for music rights holders in relation to AI models.
As referenced in John’s speech, the Labour government’s data bill – which proposes an opt-out approach for rights holders, as opposed to the preferred opt-in strategy – has been voted down by the House of Lords for an unprecedented fifth time. Led by Baroness Kidron, the ping-pong between the Houses of Commons and the upper house has lasted for weeks and resulted in John calling the government “absolute losers” in a recent interview.
Taking to the stage, John thanked Billboard for the accolade as he was honored alongside other industry leaders such as Empire’s Ghazi and Tems on the night. “Supporting the next generation of British artists is the one of the major driving forces in my life,” he said and thanked the Lords who backed the amendment saying “you rock.”
He continued: “The onus is now on the government to do the right thing and have transparency added to the bill. We’ve asked them so many times to come to us. We’ve had so many meetings with them saying that we wanted to work with you.
“Copyright has to be transparent and seek permission,” he continued. “These two principles are the bedrock of the industry and they must be included in the data bill as a backstop. Let’s be clear: We want to work with the government, we want our government to work with us. We are not anti-AI and we are not anti-Big Tech.”
John added in his passionate speech: “We are not against Labour and we want a solution. We want to bring all parties together in a way that is transparent and fair and allows artists to maintain control of their work.” He concluded: “We will not back down and we will not go away quietly. This is just the beginning.”
Read the full speech below.
Elton John’s full speech at Billboard‘s Global Power Players event
“Thank you to Billboard for honoring myself and David with this incredible award. Supporting the next generation of British artists is one of the major driving forces in my life. It’s so important. As everyone in this room is aware, the data bill is currently looming over us and our musicians and our industries and the future of the livelihood of all artists.
It is an existential issue. In the last few hours the government has been defeated for an unprecedented fifth time by the House of Lords – that’s never happened before. The Lords, who have backed our crucial amendment to the bill – thank you so much – you rock.
The onus is now on the government to do the right thing and have transparency added to the bill. We’ve asked them so many times to come to us. We’ve had so many meetings with them saying that we wanted to work with you. I voted for you, you promised me that you wanted to get young artists into Europe. I did a show for you and to get more finance into the country and investment. I did a show at St Paul’s Cathedral… and we’ve heard nothing.
Copyright has to be transparent and seek permission. These two principles are the bedrock of the industry and they must be included in the data bill as a backstop. Let’s be clear: we want to work with the government, we want our government to work with us. We are not anti-AI and we are not anti-Big Tech.
We are not against Labour and we want a solution. We want to bring all parties together in a way that is transparent and fair and allows artists to maintain control of their work. It’s so fucking important. A machine is not a human being; it doesn’t have a soul. An artist when they create or they write or they sculpt or they paint or they photograph has a soul, it’s coming from the feeling of a person. And it’s so important if we ever lose that, we are well and truly fucked.
We will not back down and we will not go away quietly. This is just the beginning and thank you Billboard and Baroness Kidron for standing up for our world beating artists and journalists and playwrights and authors.
Let’s put it like this: The entertainment industry brings £125 billion to the United Kingdom and is the second biggest industry in this Great Britain. And they are treating us like shit. They are treating us like idiots. They have their head in the sand. The Labour government at the moment should be called the Ostrich Party. I will fight for this until it’s done and people have a fair deal. Every young artist or new person who writes a song, I want them to have a future and have their copyright respected.
There’s 2.4 million people in this industry in Britain, and 70% of them live outside of London. This isn’t a case of wealthy London people, this is a nationwide thing. Please listen to us, government. If you don’t, there’s going to be trouble. If you don’t, I will come banging on your door. But let’s get together: give me a call! Let’s have a cup of tea! So far, you haven’t responded to anything we’ve suggested. Thank you!”
