Australian musicians have vowed to make their voices heard in Canberra as they continue to wage wars with artificial intelligence firms over copyright.

It is estimated that songwriters, authors and other creatives are missing out on millions in royalties due to the AI industry snatching their work for online databases without permission.

On Wednesday, a group of ­musicians and authors are set to stage an event in Canberra in the hopes of persuading the Albanese government to hold firm under pressure to relax copyright law.

The demonstration will see several artists gather at Mural Hall in Parliament House and voice their concerns about AI.

Singer-songwriter Missy Higgins said everyone in Australia’s creative industries was very relieved late last year when the Prime Minister publicly refused to weaken copyright laws.

“Back then Big Tech and their lobbyists wanted him to sell us down the river by creating a so-called Text and Data Mining exception,” Higgins told NewsWire.

“Such a change would have basically let AI do whatever it wanted with Australian stories and songs but thankfully the PM stood his ground.

“He publicly backed our musicians, authors and filmmakers and said ‘no’ to Big Tech’s demands. I really hope he’s not about to backflip on that decision.

“Australian artists face enough challenges right now without adding weaker copyright laws to the list.

“If these multinational AI companies want to make use of our creative work, they should simply follow Australia’s existing laws rather than demanding that the government change the rules to help Big Tech make even more obscene amounts of money.”

Fellow performer Jessica Mauboy said releasing music on her own label for the first time this year made her more aware than ever just how important control and creative choice were as an artist.

“The idea that big tech might get a free pass to train AI on my music without my consent is unimaginable,” Mauboy told NewsWire.

“The Albanese government must not sell out Australian culture, and take away our right to choose how our work is used.”

With companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI lobbying for a text and data mining exception, artists continue to urge decision-makers not to buckle.

The event will be attended by representatives from the Australian Recording Industry Association, the Australasian Performing Right Association and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society.

It will also see a number of creatives make their voices heard, including ARIA winner Mark Seymour, children’s author Andy Griffiths and singer-songwriter Mahalia Barnes.

“Any plan to weaken copyright law would be a stark reversal on commitments made in October 2025 when the Albanese government ruled out a text and data mining exception being lobbied for by companies like Anthropic and OpenAI,” a spokesman for the organisers said.

“On Wednesday, artists and creative organisations will once again stand up for the current law, and their right to consent to how their work is used by AI.

“The established laws are clear and fit for purpose in the AI era: if companies want to use Australian content, they need to ask permission.”

The move comes after a new online tool revealed just how many Aussie artists have fallen victim to this kind of theft.

It revealed that the likes of Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave and SIA have had hundreds of their songs scraped into AI databases without royalties being paid.