UNLIMITED SUPPLY with Digital Music News Howie Singer has ANOTHER Axe to Grind
Mar 26, 2026
Howie Singer, an NYU music business adjunct and former Warner Music Group chief technologist, rails against misleading generative AI training claims. He calls out use of pirate libraries, BitTorrent upload issues, and legal fair-use debates. Short, sharp takes on corporate choices and accountability in music tech.
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Meta Trained On Pirate Libraries
- Meta knowingly trained models on millions of copyrighted works sourced from pirate libraries like Libgen, Zlibrary, and Anna's Archive.
- Documents show Meta used BitTorrent to fetch those bulk datasets, exposing deliberate reliance on unauthorized repositories.
BitTorrent Uploads Create Legal Exposure
- Using BitTorrent means downloads also upload data to others, which increases redistribution risk and legal exposure.
- Meta's lawyers argued BitTorrent's automatic uploads were unavoidable and therefore should be considered fair use for training purposes.
Transformative Training Doesn’t Erase Infringement Risk
- A judge found training transformative but suggested obtaining training data from pirate sites likely isn't fair use, especially when redistribution occurred.
- Meta defended the behavior claiming training purpose and even U.S. AI leadership justified their choices.
