Kate Bush and Damon Albarn among 1,000 artists on silent AI protest album

Recordings of empty studios represent impact on musicians of UK’s plans to let AI train on their work without permission

More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox, have released a silent album in protest against UK government plans to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission, as a celebrity backlash builds against the proposals.

The recordings of dormant music studios and performance spaces, called Is This What We Want?, are being released as leading cultural figures warn livelihoods are under threat from proposed changes to copyright law.