Headlines

AudioShake raises $14m for AI tech that can turn any audio file into stems

AI audio company AudioShake says it has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round. AudioShake has developed an AI-driven technology that can take any audio file and break apart its components into stems, meaning separate tracks for vocals, individual music instruments, sound effects and the like. The company also says it has “grown rapidly” over the past year, signing more than 40 enterprise contracts, and it has seen 400% year-over-year revenue growth, though it did not specify a number

Source: AudioShake raises $14m for AI tech that can turn any audio file into stems

Spooked by AI, Bollywood stars drag Google into fight for ‘personality rights’

Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, known for her iconic Cannes Film Festival red carpet appearances, have asked a judge to remove and prohibit creation of AI videos infringing their intellectual property rights. But in a more far-reaching request, they also want Google ordered to have safeguards to ensure such YouTube videos uploaded anyway do not train other AI platforms, legal papers reviewed by Reuters show.

Source: Spooked by AI, Bollywood stars drag Google into fight for ‘personality rights’

Google AI Overviews Overlaps Organic Search By 54%

New research from BrightEdge offers insights into how Google’s AI Overviews ranks websites across different verticals, with implications for what SEOs and publishers should be focusing on. The data shows that 54% of the AI Overviews citations matched the web pages ranked in the organic search results. This means that 46% of citations do not overlap with organic search results.  Could this be an artifact of Google’s FastSearch algorithm?

Source: Google AI Overviews Overlaps Organic Search By 54%

Publishers with AI licensing deals have seven times the clickthrough rate

Publishers with OpenAI licensing deals benefit from a ChatGPT clickthrough rate almost seven times higher than those without agreements, according to the latest State of the Bots report from Tollbit. This suggests that AI gatekeepers’ discretionary deal-making, which currently largely locks out all but large, premium, English-language titles, will be a key determinant of success as AI adoption and diffusion continues to accelerate.

Source: Publishers with AI licensing deals have seven times the clickthrough rate

AI Actress Tilly Norwood Condemned by SAG-AFTRA: Tilly ‘Is Not an Actor’

SAG-AFTRA has issued a statement condemning Tilly Norwood, the AI “actress” who has become a contentious subject in Hollywood after her creator, Eline Van der Velden, recently claimed that multiple talent agents were interested in signing the AI creation. “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation,” SAG-AFTRA wrote in a statement.

Source: AI Actress Tilly Norwood Condemned by SAG-AFTRA: Tilly ‘Is Not an Actor… It Has No Life Experience to Draw From, No Emotion’

AI Artists Are Here. Is It Ethical to Sign Them to Record Deals?

Monet’s success — her five songs have racked up 17 million U.S. streams and generated an estimated $52,000 over two months — has led to ethical conflicts in the business. Some reps from indie labels who spoke with Billboard say they would never sign an AI artist because they’re committed to human creators. Like Kehlani, they resent the idea that a poet in her bedroom pushing a few buttons can compete with human artists.

Source: AI Artists Are Here. Is It Ethical to Sign Them to Record Deals?

Spotify and Merlin ink multi-year global licensing deal

Independent music licensing group Merlin and Spotify have renewed their global, multi-year licensing partnership. According to the companies, the agreement, announced on Tuesday (September 30), “reinforces the vital role of independent music on Spotify and provides Merlin members continued access to a platform that reaches fans worldwide”.

Source: Spotify and Merlin ink multi-year global licensing deal

OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out

OpenAI began alerting talent agencies and studios about the forthcoming product and its opt-out process over the past week and plans to release the new version in the coming days, the people said. The opt-out process for the new version of Sora means that movie studios and other intellectual property owners would have to explicitly ask OpenAI not to include their copyright material in videos the tool creates.

Source: OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out

Spotify’s founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down 

Music streaming giant Spotify said on Tuesday that its founder, Daniel Ek, is stepping down as CEO and will become the company’s executive chairman by the year’s end. The company is replacing Ek with two co-CEOs chosen in house: Gustav Söderström, co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer.

Source: Spotify’s founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down | TechCrunch

Legislators to Trump: Consider a Federal Film and TV Tax Credit Instead

You could practically hear Hollywood executives groaning Monday after President Donald Trump mused again about imposing a “100%” tariff on films produced abroad. But at least two local legislators saw an opportunity in Trump’s latest riff. Just hours after the president’s Truth Social post, California Sen. Adam Schiff and U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman attempted to redirect the conversation to their pet project: a federal film and television tax incentive.

Source: Legislators to Trump: Consider a Federal Film and TV Tax Credit Instead

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