UK Music Ltd.

06/13/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/13/2025 05:59

‘Government Has Avoided a Parliamentary Nightmare Coming True, We Must Now Regroup On AI’, says UK Music Chief Tom Kiehl

13.06.2025: In a Music Week exclusive, UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl explores next steps in the ongoing AI debate as the Government passes its Data (Use and Access) Bill.

"Double Insistence" sounds like it could be the name of an album. Perhaps something released by Genesis, a collection of outtakes from John and Yoko, or, at last, new material from Bros?

In actual fact "Double Insistence" is a phrase that has been giving the UK government sleepless nights, and it has been very relevant to the interests of the music industry of late.

In Parliamentary speak "Double Insistence" is checkmate. A constitutional stand-off between the House of Lords and House of Commons. If invoked the Government would have been thwarted in getting its legislative programme through. Seen as a direct challenge to the primacy of the Commons, there would undoubtedly be consequences to the Lords powers as a result of "double insistence" coming into effect.

It is easier for the government to be defeated in the Lords as, unlike the Commons, it lacks a majority there. The Commons usually overturns any Lords defeats, sometimes with a compromise, and then the Lords generally give way. The recent Data (Use and Access) Bill has been somewhat different, with a very protracted and unusual form of Parliamentary "ping-pong" between the two Houses to reach a resolution.

Thanks to vocal support from Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and many other music industry bodies and figures, the Government was defeated five times in total on amendments led primarily by Baroness Beeban Kidron, but also supported by a cross party group of Parliamentarians, that would address the need for greater transparency on training data from AI firms to industries like music and other creative sectors.

These defeats brought the Data (Use and Access) Bill perilously close to the Government staring into the abyss of "double insistence" yet ultimately it got its way when the House of Lords decide not to press the issue for sixth time on Wednesday.

While this is all very interesting to those who enjoy watching Parliament as a form of spectator sport, does any of it matter and make any difference, particularly regarding how the government plans to approach the issue of AI and copyright?

You can read the rest of Tom's article in full here.

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