R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt & more protest AI theft with Stealing Isn’t Innovation campaign

January 22, 2026 1

(L-R) Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry, of R.E.M., attend the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala at New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)

The members of R.E.M. — Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck — along with Bonnie Raitt, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran‘s Simon LeBon and others, have signed their names to a new campaign targeting artificial intelligence.

The Stealing Isn’t Innovation campaign, backed by the Human Artistry Campaign, blasts big-tech companies that use copyrighted works for AI without authorization.

“Artists, writers, and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft – plain and simple,” reads the statement on the campaign’s website. “A better way exists – through licensing deals and partnerships, some AI companies have taken the responsible, ethical route to obtaining the content and materials they wish to use.”

It adds, “It is possible to have it all. We can have advanced, rapidly developing AI and ensure creators’ rights are respected.”

Other musicians supporting the Stealing Isn’t Innovation campaign include Chaka Khan, Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, OK Go, MGMT, CAKE, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and The Zombies.