David Ellison is not going away quietly in his quest to land Warner Bros. Discovery. On Monday, Ellison’s Paramount Skydance announced it has commenced an all-cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of WBD for $30 per share — the same terms it offered in a Dec. 4 bid submitted to the Warner Bros. Discovery’s board.
Supreme Court: Can ISPs Be Liable For Piracy By Doing Nothing?
Can an ISP be held liable for piracy simply by “doing nothing”? Yesterday, the Supreme Court addressed this billion-dollar question. While record labels argued that Cox turned a blind eye to “habitual abusers,” the ISP warned that expanding liability without proof of active intent would turn internet providers into “Internet Police” and threaten essential access for hospitals, schools, or even entire towns.
Source: Supreme Court: Can ISPs Be Liable For Piracy By Doing Nothing? * TorrentFreak
Indie Labels Return 77% of Profits Back to Their Artists—STUDY
Global think tank and advocacy group ORCA (Organization for Recorded Culture and Arts) has released a first-of-its-kind report revealing how independent labels generate tangible value and income for artists through long-term partnerships and investment. It shows that in 2023, these labels invested $134 million that supported 569 artists across different genres and geographies, generating a combined revenue of $239 million.
Source: Indie Labels Return 77% of Profits Back to Their Artists—STUDY
Why the Getty-Shutterstock Merger Is Really About Who Controls “Real”
Getty CEO Craig Peters told the Financial Times that if regulators block the $3.7 billion deal, “there’s parts of these businesses that probably don’t continue to invest in the UK.” But the real story isn’t whether two large companies should be allowed to merge. It’s what their convergence reveals about the collapsing economics of visual evidence and whether anyone is building the infrastructure that makes real images valuable before the last people who know how to create them find something else to do.
Source: Why the Getty-Shutterstock Merger Is Really About Who Controls “Real” – Kaptur
Spines Adds AI Audiobook Voice Cloning, Translations
After securing $22.5 million in funding in 2024, AI-powered self-publishing platform Spines has deployed the funds to introduce author voice cloning for audiobooks, expand translation services to seven languages, and grow its author base to more than 6,000 users. The platform published more than 2,000 titles in 2024, up from 400 titles in 2023, and anticipates it will reach 8,000 titles by the end of this year.
Source: Spines Adds AI Audiobook Voice Cloning, Translations
Karaoke startup Singa strikes licensing deal with indie music rep Merlin
The partnership, announced Tuesday (December 2), gives the startup access to recordings from Merlin‘s membership of independent labels and distributors spanning more than 70 countries. Combined with its June licensing deal with Warner Music, Singa is assembling a catalog of original masters and “not reproductions or soundalike versions.” Previously, karaoke companies relied on recreated versions of popular songs due to licensing restrictions with major labels.
Source: Karaoke startup Singa strikes licensing deal with indie music rep Merlin
Jorja Smith’s label FAMM seeks share of royalties ‘I Run’ amid AI allegations
The track, credited to Haven (the project of producer Harrison Walker), went viral on TikTok in October and was on course to chart in both the UK and US before being removed from streaming services following takedown notices alleging artist impersonation. In a statement published via Instagram, FAMM alleged that Walker “used AI to make his voice sound like Jorja’s and had used Jorja’s name (without permission) suggesting to the public that it was actually Jorja singing.”
AI music creates unease as it tops the charts
In a recent study by the streaming platform Deezer and market research company Ipsos, 97% of respondents could not tell the difference between music tracks made entirely by artificial intelligence and those made by humans. At first glance, it might seem that listeners are welcoming AI-generated music with open arms and ears. But the truth is muddier. The same Deezer study found that 52% of respondents were uncomfortable about not being able to tell the difference between human and AI music.
News Corp Launches Downloadable Copyright License Agreement
News Corp Australia has launched a licence agreement to give corporate Australia new confidence to download, share and copy content from across the publisher’s professional and extensive news, information and entertainment network, helping reduce the legal and financial risk copyright infringement poses. Importantly, given the rise of artificial intelligence, the licence also caters for copyrighted content to be used as a prompt in AI tools as well as delivering predictable value and ease of compliance.
Source: News Corp Launches Downloadable Copyright Licence Agreement – Content + Technology
Spotify acquires music database WhoSampled
WhoSampled offers an extensive database of songs, samples, covers, remixes, artists, and more. According to its website, it’s now tracking more than 1.2 million songs and nearly 622,000 samples. That data is powering Spotify’s latest features, like its upcoming music discovery tool SongDNA. However, WhoSampled was known to Spotify for some time, as it had partnered with the streamer back in 2016 to allow its users to access their Spotify playlists and saved tracks in its app
Source: Spotify acquires music database WhoSampled | TechCrunch