Mogul, a music startup that lets artists and managers track and identify missing royalties, has raised $5 million in a funding round led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund. Other investors include the Urban Innovation Fund, as well as Mindset Ventures and EU-based Fairway Capital Partners. Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures have also renewed their commitment. According to Mogul, the new funding will be used to expand its ability to serve “artists, managers, and business managers of all kinds”.
Artificial intelligence video startup Runway AI has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in California federal court for allegedly misusing YouTube content to train its video generation platform. YouTube creator David Gardner said in the complaint, opens new tab, filed in Los Angeles on Monday, that Runway bypassed YouTube’s copyright protections to illegally download user videos for its AI training.
Source: YouTuber sues Runway AI in latest copyright class action over AI training
The world’s top AI models can be prompted to generate near-verbatim copies of bestselling novels, raising fresh questions about the industry’s claim that its systems do not store copyrighted works. A series of recent studies has shown that large language models from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, and xAI memorize far more of their training data than previously thought.
Source: AIs can generate near-verbatim copies of novels from training data
When a dispute arose over orchestral music appearing in the new Melania Trump documentary, “Melania,” aficionados of music, film and politics all stood to pay attention. The subject of licensing music rights is fascinating and thorny enough in its own right. Add to that a member of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood, and one of today’s top film directors, Paul Thomas Anderson, seeming to have a beef with the nation’s First Couple, and naturally it made headlines.
Streaming platforms in the U.K. are set to come under “enhanced regulation” from media regulator Ofcom, which already oversees television and radio broadcasting in the country. The rules will give Ofcom the power to accept viewer complaints and investigate streaming platforms. The U.K. government is set to implement another layer of legislation to the Media Act 2024 to bring video on demand services in the U.K. under Ofcom’s eye.
In an open letter titled ‘Say No to Suno’, the artist reps described the company as a “brazen smash and grab” platform, accusing it of using “unauthorized AI platform machinery trained on human artists’ work”. Published Monday (February 23) on the Music Technology Policy blog, the letter was signed by figures including Ron Gubitz, Executive Director of the Music Artist Coalition; and Helienne Lindvall, songwriter and President of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance.
The Australian government should ignore claims from artificial intelligence giants that local copyright laws prevent them from investing heavily in data centers, say media and entertainment industry leaders. “Where is the proof that issuing a copyright exemption or law change would bring massive economic benefit to Australians and not just major US tech companies?” said head of the Australian Recording Industry Association, Annabelle Herd.
Source: Industry blasts big tech’s ‘untrue’ copyright investment threats
“It’s entirely possible that in two years we’ll have clarity that’s probably good enough in terms of a set of best practices,” estimated Jessica Litman. But she warned it could be longer, “because these cases are so huge, they are happening in dribs and drabs… so it can take a while to establish a trend.” She said it could be as many as 10 more years until these lawsuits are resolved.
Source: Lawyers Warn of a Decade of Uncertainty over AI Copyright
The estate of Isaac Hayes has reached a confidential settlement with President Donald Trump to end copyright litigation over the allegedly unauthorized use of the 1966 song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at 2024 election rallies. Hayes’ son and estate manager, music producer Isaac Hayes III, says in a Monday (Feb. 23) Instagram statement that the lawsuit “has been mutually resolved, and we are satisfied with the outcome.”
Source: Isaac Hayes Estate Settles with Trump in Copyright Lawsuit Over Election Rally Song
The number of AI studios blanketing Hollywood, along with the VC dollars to power them, is increasing at an astonishing rate. Hollywood-focused video-generation platform Runway AI revealed a new cash raise of $315 million; Saudi Arabia led a $900 million funding round for Amit Jain’s startup Luma; all-purpose AI giant Anthropic raised $30 billion.
Source: The Fight Over AI in Hollywood Is a Battle Between Money and Activism