The man who fought napster is now fighting AI

Nilay Patel

That's because here in 2026, Mitch, the RIAA, the record labels, the artists, and ordinary people are all pretty unhappy with big AI companies in the same way for training on everyone's work without permission and flooding our feeds with slop.

Mitch Glazier

The word balance is the right one and it's not an easy one.

Mitch Glazier

The good news is unlike Napster, I don't feel like we are facing it at odds, which is kind of what it felt like back then. Now it feels like we're not in the same place, but we're kind of rowing in the same general direction.

Mitch Glazier

If you go back to why copyright exists.

Mitch Glazier

If non-human music, which can be made in two seconds.

Mitch Glazier

And it's really hard. It's it's super hard.

Mitch Glazier

You're the first person, I think that sort of that I've listened to that sort of honed in on like on this particular question.

Mitch Glazier

It is very clear that fans want to maintain that human connection with an artist.

Mitch Glazier

we know, for example, that if a fan knows that a song is AI.

Mitch Glazier

I think on generative AI, it will last forever.

Mitch Glazier

Where creators are using AI even in a broad way in order to sort of as a tool to get their creation out there.

Mitch Glazier

I think labeling is happening and will continue to happen because of fans.

Mitch Glazier

my focus all around the world is, have we secured the basic rights of creators?

Nilay Patel

It was hot. And one of the things that has really occurred to me is I get older and AI exists and I see the platforms taking so much of the economic value out of art.

Nilay Patel

And now the AI companies are like, and we're going to stand up a competitor where you can just ask for music and no one except us will get paid.