A study commissioned by the Gotham Ghostwriters and Bernoff.com found that while most professional writers are embracing AI tools, authors, specifically fiction authors, are much more wary. The majority of all writers think that AI poses both a threat and an opportunity. 61% reported using AI tools, which they say increase their productivity by an average of 31%, but only 7% of respondents have published AI-generated text.
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How Bad Was Brexit for the UK Touring Industry?
A new report from the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport on the impact of Brexit on British musicians playing in Europe reveals that the UK leaving the EU in 2020 has had a significant effect on European touring for UK musicians. In particular, the study highlights the decline in performances and estimates the economic consequences. Commissioned by the UK government, the report reveals that the total number of performances by British artists in Europe in 2024 was 21% lower than pre-Brexit levels in 2019.
Google Launches AI Tool to Add Interactivity to E-books
In something of a first, Google has launched a new AI application for books that publishers seem to actually like, thanks to its apparent respect for copyright protections. Today, the company introduced Expert Intelligence (EI), a feature that allows someone reading an e-book purchased on Google Play’s e-bookstore to interact with the title—by asking questions about the book, taking a quiz after reading it, or producing an infographic of key data—through Google’s AI research tool, Gemini Notebook.
Source: Google Launches AI Tool to Add Interactivity to E-books
Now Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sue Anthropic in multi-billion dollar lawsuit
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have joined forces to sue Anthropic, home of Claude, over what the publishers call “one of the largest and most blatant ongoing thefts of intellectual property in history.” The complaint also names Anthropic Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei and Co-Founder Benjamin Mann as individual defendants. It was filed on Friday (August 28) in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Source: Now Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sue Anthropic in multi-billion dollar lawsuit
How AI Watermark Mandates Could Unmask Journalists Who Never Touched AI
Imagine a scenario where a documentary filmmaker, in the course of making the documentary, captures some damning footage of corporate malfeasance, which she wishes to share with an investigative reporting organization anonymously. Should we be concerned that mandates on AI watermarking might reveal who she is, even if she’s not using AI at all? This doesn’t mean that watermarking shouldn’t be used, but rather, as WITNESS notes, we should be aware of the risks, and seek to counter them.
Source: How AI Watermark Mandates Could Unmask Journalists Who Never Touched AI
SoundCloud to Allow Direct Music Purchases
SoundCloud announced that it will begin rolling out direct music purchases, now in beta, on the streaming platform direct from artist pages. Starting Wednesday (Aug. 26), around 200 Artist Pro creators will be able to sell songs directly from their profiles on SoundCloud, providing an additional source of revenue for artists. “Artists should be able to build their audience in one place, on one platform,” Eliah Seton, SoundCloud’s CEO, said in a statement. “SoundCloud has always been where artists find their first fans and build real communities.
Twitch Streamers Sue Twitch, Amazon Over AI Training Data Use
Streaming platform Twitch and its parent company Amazon are facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a Connecticut-based streamer over claims that the companies harvested creators’ content without informing or compensating them to train Amazon’s artificial intelligence programs. According to the filing, streamer and class representative Warren Pandiscia alleges that Amazon began scraping video streams for training purposes before Twitch updated its terms of service to address AI data use, which included an opt-out option for creators.
Source: Twitch Streamers Sue Twitch, Amazon Over AI Training Data Use
UMG-backed Music IP Holdings unveils AI music patent portfolio
The full array of patents extends beyond music to audio, video, film, animation, images, and text, as well as applications involving name and likeness, according to MIH. Digital services can license them through an online platform that MIH said is designed for widespread adoption. Meanwhile, UMG, its affiliates, artists and songwriters – plus other participating rightsholders – will be able to use the portfolio to protect their works against unlicensed and unauthorized generative AI uses.
Source: UMG-backed Music IP Holdings unveils AI music patent portfolio
Dr. Dre Says He Uses AI to Produce Songs
In an interview with the New York Times, Dr. Dre and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine spoke about artificial intelligence’s recent foray into music production, with the producer characterizing those who oppose AI song generation tools as “afraid of learning new things.” “I don’t see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” Dr. Dre said.
Do watermarks spell the end of AI content proliferation?
AI companies are now required to make model outputs detectable as AI-generated under Article 50 of the EU AI Act – or, in other words, watermarked. Responses, however, have been mixed. While Anthropic stated it has seen no notable drop in usage, sentiment has reportedly been shifting, as per Forbes. Some users are concerned that the watermark can appear on text they have only used Claude to edit, making it indistinguishable from wholly generated text and resulting in reputational decline.
Source: Do watermarks spell the end of AI content proliferation?