Headlines

New Lawsuit Accuses Spotify of ‘Undisclosed Filtering Practices’ to Boost Majors Over Indies

Mark Kratter, who appears to release music as part of a namesake band, submitted the concise complaint to the Stamford Superior Court. Off the bat, the action reads like a recap of well-established facts concerning Spotify’s far-from-ideal royalty realities. However, the suit, alleging violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and more, doesn’t solely retread already-covered angles.

Source: New Lawsuit Accuses Spotify of ‘Undisclosed Filtering Practices’ to Boost Majors Over Indies

UK news industry backs law to stop deceptive AI scraping

A proposed UK law is being drafted to stop companies deploying AI bots from using deceptive tactics to scrape websites. The Automated Online Software (Access and Transparency) Bill is unlikely to become law, unless it secures backing from the Government, but it has the support of publishers and could well help shape other legislation. The move follows New York state passing the Stealth Crawler Preservation Act.

Source: UK news industry backs law to stop deceptive AI scraping

29 Organizations Call on Labels and Publishers to End ‘Default Opt-Ins,’ ‘Forced AI Clauses’

Looks like the AFM’s lawsuit against Universal Music and Warner Music was just the beginning. Now, 29 organizations are calling on labels and publishers to prioritize “meaningful consent, fair remuneration and full transparency” in their AI licensing agreements. Those organizations, repping artists, songwriters, and music managers alike, today voiced several pressing concerns in an open letter. In their view, as gen AI pacts continue to pour in, creatives themselves “are not being meaningfully consulted” despite being “the primary holders of many of the rights at stake.”

Source: 29 Organizations Call on Labels and Publishers to End ‘Default Opt-Ins,’ ‘Forced AI Clauses,’

Getty Images makes a surprise deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI

On Sunday, Getty Images said it has entered into a partnership with OpenAI. The deal will see images from Getty’s licensed content libraries surface in OpenAI search results and “discovery experiences within ChatGPT.” “High‑quality, licensed visual content makes AI‑powered search and discovery more useful and more trustworthy,” Getty CEO Craig Peters said in a statement. “This partnership with OpenAI reflects a shared recognition of that, and together we will deliver richer visual experiences to ChatGPT users.”

Source: Getty Images makes a surprise deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI

The Atlantic created a searchable database of the music used to train AI

Atlantic reporter Alex Reisner recently uncovered four datasets of music being used to train AI models and made them fully searchable for the public. Two of the sets are absolutely enormous at 12 million and 9 million tracks. The other two are much smaller, but still represent a significant amount of training data at over 100,000 songs each. According to Reisner, the sets have been downloaded thousands of times.

Source: The Atlantic created a searchable database of the music used to train AI

Japan passes copyright reform giving performers royalties when recordings play in public

The country’s parliament enacted a revised Copyright Act on Wednesday (June 17), introducing what the government calls the record performance and communication right. Until now, only songwriters, composers, and music publishers were paid when commercially released music was played as background music in Japanese venues. The performers and the labels behind those recordings received nothing for the public plays, at home or overseas.

Source: Japan passes copyright reform giving performers royalties when recordings play in public

Majors and BMG ask US Supreme Court to overturn copyright termination ruling

The major music companies and BMG have asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that lets songwriters reclaim the worldwide rights to their songs under American law. In a petition filed on June 11, the rightsholders warned that the decision would unleash “chaos” on the industry if left to stand, and asked the justices to reverse a January ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Source: Majors and BMG ask US Supreme Court to overturn copyright termination ruling 

Congress wants artists to own their aesthetic

A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced the CREATOR Act, which would grant visual artists control over how AI mimics their creative styles. Existing intellectual property law generally doesn’t provide people with a right to their artistic styles. The CREATOR Act would significantly expand the scope of IP, and raises a number of unsettled questions about what exactly makes an artists’ work distinctive in a legal sense.

Source: Congress wants artists to own their aesthetic

No Fakes Act Clears Senate Judiciary Committee

A bill to curb the use of unauthorized AI deepfakes has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, significant movement for a top legislative priority for the entertainment industry this year. The bill is meant to address the proliferation of unauthorized “deepfakes,” as a number of performers have testified on Capitol Hill about the use of their voice and likeness. 

Source: No Fakes Act Clears Senate Judiciary Committee

A landmark bill targeting AI deepfakes faces a US Senate Judiciary Committee vote on June 18

In the bill, a digital replica is described as “a newly created, computer-generated, highly realistic electronic representation that is readily identifiable as the voice or visual likeness of an individual.” It covers fully synthetic tracks and real recordings whose fundamental character has been materially altered, but exempts parody, commentary, news and authorized sampling.

Source: A landmark bill targeting AI deepfakes faces a US Senate Judiciary Committee vote on June 18

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