A legal battle that began over a Sarah Connor album posted on a German pirate site has escalated into a landmark case that will shape EU copyright law. The lawsuit between Universal Music and Cloudflare has reached the highest German court, which recently asked the EU’s top court to step in. At stake is the legal definition of “temporary caching” and whether CDNs face the same liability risks as content platforms.
Xposure Music secures $42.5m in fresh capital for indie catalog acquisitions
Founded in Montreal in 2021, Xposure Music is described as a “technology-driven financing and investment platform for independent music rights”. Xposure Music says on its website that it has deployed funding to nearly 100 artists in the past 18 months, and that with this new infusion of capital, the company plans to “scale its efforts, funding additional artists and acquiring catalogs at a larger volume”.
Source: Xposure Music secures $42.5m in fresh capital for indie catalog acquisitions
ECSA warns majors off ‘undervaluing song rights’ in AI deals
The latest industry entity to have its say on the recent spate of major-label deals with AI-music companies is ECSA. “So far, both UMG and WMG have underlined that their recently announced agreements with Udio and Suno – which appear to cover both rights over the recording as well as the song rights – will empower and protect artists and songwriters, but provided very little detail about the involvement, consent and remuneration of music authors and artists,” The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance said.
Source: ECSA warns majors off ‘undervaluing song rights’ in AI deals
How Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips is responding to Google challenge
Visits to Forbes.com were down 59% year on year and 4% month on month in October to 75.4 million visits, according to Similarweb. Phillips attributed the traffic decline to the rollout of Google’s AI Overviews in 2024, providing lengthy answers at the top of many types of search results (especially for evergreen content) meaning users may not feel the need to click through to the original source. “We’re losing that attribution of, you know, who’s the richest person in the world, according to Forbes, it’s Elon Musk.
Source: Interview: How Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips is responding to Google challenge
AI has helped break news ecosystem, but could also fix it – says agency boss
For the last decade, Leidig has been building NewsX, a Community Interest Company. “In the agency world, if you do the editorial work and someone uses it, you get paid. It’s that simple. Social media platforms broke that when they started monetising what they don’t produce.” NewsX is designed to reconnect that chain by documenting editorial labour, validating it, tracking and charging for usage.
Source: AI has helped break news ecosystem, but could also fix it – says agency boss
WMG CEO vows to ‘legislate, litigate, license’ in the era of AI music creation
In a blog post published late Wednesday (November 19), Kyncl outlined WMG’s approach to generative AI partnerships, emphasizing that the major label will only work with companies that commit to licensed models, properly value music economically, and give artists control over the use of their name, image, likeness, and voice. The timing of Kyncl’s message is particularly significant.
Record Financial Pushes Real-Time Royalties on Avalanche to Modernize Music Payments
For most artists, getting paid is still stuck in the dial-up era. A song might blow up overnight, but the royalty check might not land for months. Money bounces through labels, publishers, distributors, and collecting societies, creating a maze of delays and obscure accounting. Record Financial wants to flip that model. Its platform pulls in royalty data as it’s generated, normalizes it, and distributes payouts instantly via stablecoins like USDC using Avalanche.
Source: Record Financial Pushes Real-Time Royalties on Avalanche to Modernize Music Payments – Decrypt
Spotify rolls out expanded song credits, previews new ‘SongDNA’ for Premium users
Thus far, Spotify’s song credits included topline performers, songwriters and producers. The new credits expand that to include “all of the contributors who make each song possible,” including background vocalists, musicians, and engineers. “The more fans understand the careful craft that underpins the music they love, the deeper their fandom grows and the more invested they become in the people who create it,” Spotify said in a blog post.
UMG, Sony and Warner strike licensing deals with new AI music platform KLAY
According to a press release issued on Thursday (November 20), these agreements “establish terms on which KLAY will help further evolve music experiences for fans, leveraging the potential of AI, while fully respecting the rights of artists, songwriters, and rightsholders”. The company states that it is developing an AI music platform that “reimagines listening with immersive, interactive tools,” powered by KLAY’s Large Music Model, which, according to the announcement, is “trained entirely on licensed music.”
Source: UMG, Sony and Warner strike licensing deals with new AI music platform KLAY
EU eases AI, privacy rules as critics warn of caving to Big Tech
The EU on Wednesday unveiled new proposals to simplify AI and privacy regulations, drawing fire from the tech sector for not going far enough and consumer groups for bowing to Big Tech. The EU Commission’s “Digital Omnibus”, which faces debate and votes from European countries, proposed to delay stricter rules on use of AI in “high-risk” areas until late 2027, ease rules around cookies and enable more use of data.Source: EU eases AI, privacy rules as critics warn of caving to Big Tech