A federal appeals court ruled on Monday (January 12) that songwriters can use US copyright law to reclaim their songs worldwide, not just in the US, a decision that could change how the music industry handles decades-old agreements between songwriters and publishers. The decision centers on “termination rights,” a provision in copyright law that lets songwriters reclaim songs they sold off years earlier.
Ingram Lets Publishers Opt Out of Book Sales to Tech Firms
In a note sent last week to client publishers, Ingram Content Group warned of the “growing trend” of AI companies purchasing and scanning print books train their large language models, and said publishers could opt out of selling to these companies. Ingram acknowledged that it may not always be able to identify if the buyer is an AI company, but said it “will make reasonable efforts” to honor the wishes of publishers who don’t wish to sell to them.
Source: Ingram Lets Publishers Opt Out of Book Sales to Tech Firms
Australia Preps 38% Commercial Radio Recordings Royalty Hike
Australia’s Copyright Tribunal finalized this licensing-rate hike in a mid-December decision, and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) today “acknowledged” the development. At a glance, “acknowledge” might not seem an appropriately enthusiastic verb; a double-digit rate jump is, after all, significant. But the major-label-led PPCA had been pushing for a comparatively sweeping licensing-scheme overhaul.
Source: Australia Preps 38% Commercial Radio Recordings Royalty Hike
Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Songs in a First for Major Online Music Platforms
Bandcamp is placing a ban on AI-generated songs, the company announced in a Reddit post on Tuesday (Jan. 13). Specifically, Bandcamp is no longer permitting songs that use generative AI in all or a “substantial part” of their process on the platform. It also noted that it does not allow the use of any AI tools “to impersonate other artists or styles.” It is not clear how Bandcamp will determine which songs use AI substantially and which do not.
Source: Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Songs in a First for Major Online Music Platforms
Introducing: Duetti and Billboard’s Music Finance Index
The industry-first, seminanual benchmark polls artist managers, lawyers and indie executives for their expectations for catalog investment trends. The Index is intentionally centered on the perceptions of music industry stakeholders, rather than buyout funds and financial institutions that can be a few steps removed from the “action” in the space.
Source: Introducing: Duetti and Billboard’s Music Finance Index
MLC vs. Spotify bundle battle intensifies as streamer opposes immediate appeal
Mechanical Licensing Collective is seeking an immediate appeal of a court ruling in its legal battle with Spotify over audiobook bundling and royalty payments. The request triggered a sharp procedural battle. In a 33-page opposition filed January 9 Spotify argued that The MLC waited nearly a year too long to request this type of expedited review and fails to meet the legal requirements for an immediate appeal.
Source: MLC vs. Spotify bundle battle intensifies as streamer opposes immediate appeal
Attribution and Licensing Startup Musical AI Scores $4.5M Raise
Heavybit, the self-described “leading early-stage investor in enterprise infrastructure,” led the newer raise. Also contributing to the $4.5 million tranche were the Business Development Bank of Canada and Halifax-based Build Ventures. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, Musical AI intends to keep on building out its core attribution tech. Per the company, the involved tools are “successfully deployed” and “can parse what percentage of a generated output came from which source.”
Source: Attribution and Licensing Startup Musical AI Scores $4.5M Raise
“Streamflation” Is Real: U.S. Data Shows Soaring Price of Streaming Video Services
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday released its December Consumer Price Index, showing modest inflation of 0.3 percent on a monthly basis and 2.7 percent for the year. But a deeper dive into the data tables also shows an outlier that is relevant to Hollywood: Subscription video services. According to the BLS data, “Subscription and rental of video and video games” saw inflation of 19.5 percent in December.
Source: “Streamflation” Is Real: U.S. Inflation Data Shows Soaring Price of Streaming Video Services
X could ‘lose right to self regulate’, says Starmer
T
he UK will bring into force a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, following widespread concerns over Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot. Speaking to Labour MPs on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer warned X could lose the “right to self regulate”. “If X cannot control Grok, we will,” he said, adding the government would act quickly in response to the issue.
Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025
Google search traffic was down globally by a third in the year to November, according to new Chartbeat data. In addition, referrals to more than 2,500 publisher websites from Google Discover, a feed served to users on Google’s native mobile apps and within its Android operating system, were down 21% year on year. Since May 2023, Google search referrals were down 21% globally, with Google Discover down 18% and all external referrals down 24%.
Source: Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025