Source: State of the independent music economy: Fragmentation AND consolidation
Headlines
Zuckerberg: The AI Slop Will Continue Until Morale Improves
In a quarterly earnings call that was overwhelmingly about AI and Meta’s plans for it, Zuckerberg said that new, AI-generated feeds are likely to come to Facebook and other Meta platforms. Zuckerberg said he is excited for the “opportunity for AI to help people create content that just makes people’s feed experiences better.”
Source: Zuckerberg: The AI Slop Will Continue Until Morale Improves
How publishers use AI to boost productivity: From audio editions to exploiting archives
A report from Enders Analysis has argued that generative artificial intelligence “will not alter the fundamental commercial reality for the news” as the shift online did previously. The research firm cautioned publishers to be “realistic” about the productivity and revenue gains possible from AI, but added that ignoring AI would be “a mistake”.
Source: How publishers use AI to boost productivity: From audio editions to exploiting archives
What if A.I. Is Actually Good for Hollywood?
A.I. is evolving so rapidly, and remains so poorly understood by so many people in Hollywood, that it’s difficult to predict how it will wind up proving most beneficial, and which aspects of the filmmaking process it will disrupt first. “Everyone’s nervous,” says Susan Sprung, the Producers Guild’s chief executive, and yet no one’s quite sure what to be nervous about.
Source: What if AI is Actually Good for Hollywood?
Dolphin Partners With Deepfake Protection Firm Loti AI
Amid the explosion of unauthorized AI-generated content, entertainment marketing and production firm Dolphin has partnered with Loti AI, a deepfake detection and takedown startup aimed at protecting companies and celebrity clients against fake accounts, false endorsements, deepfakes and unlicensed distribution of content.
Source: Dolphin Partners With Deepfake Protection Firm Loti AI (EXCLUSIVE)
Concord closes $850m Asset-Backed Securities transaction
The company said on Monday (October 28) that the transaction would “fuel strategic growth and acquisition[s]” and that it underscores its “ongoing effort to strategically grow and monetize its music assets and position the company as a consequential force in the music industry”. Concord’s ABS transaction is securitized by royalties from its catalog of over one million compositions, master recordings, and related assets.
Source: Concord closes $850m Asset-Backed Securities transaction to ‘fuel strategic growth and acquisitions’
The Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalog has just been valued at $2.36bn
Kroll’s report cites an unnamed independent third-party valuation firm that valued the HSF portfolio at USD $2.36 billion as of August 1, 2024. That’s around $150 million more than the total amount HSF spent buying its portfolio over the years ($2.206 billion, according to financial documents). It’s also around$150 million more than the portfolio’s estimated enterprise value of $2.20 billion when Blackstone acquired it this summer.
ASCAP and Sacem form strategic alliance that will include a new AI task force
US collective management organization ASCAP and French counterpart Sacem have announced a new strategic partnership that will see the two CMOs share technologies, extend a digital licensing partnership, bring their member creators together, and launch a new AI task force. The new partnership, announced on Wednesday (October 30), builds on earlier strategic collaborations between the two, including a 2022 digital licensing partnership.
Source: ASCAP and Sacem form strategic alliance that will include a new AI task force
Meta joins others reinventing search with AI
Meta is reportedly working on AI-powered search to reduce its dependency on Microsoft and Google. The development comes during a season where many vendors are finding new opportunities with search using generative AI. For example, Google — the clear leader in search up to now — has transformed its longstanding search strategy with AI Overviews, a feature that summarizes search results, provides product comparisons and performs other generative AI-powered services, over the past year.
Source: Meta joins others reinventing search with AI | TechTarget
Google’s AI search summaries are rolling out to over 100 more countries
Google’s AI Overviews are expanding across more than 100 countries this week. The AI-generated search summaries will appear for users in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Colombia, Chile, the Phillippines, Nigeria, and many more locations. You can view the full list of countries on Google’s website. In each country, AI Overviews will now appear in any supported language, including English, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Source: Google’s AI search summaries are rolling out to over 100 more countries