If giving people money encourages them to create, then surely giving them more money would encourage them to create more music, right? As one of us has documented empirically, the answer is actually no. Throughout music history, copyright’s incentive has often been dialed up too high and, counterintuitively, has led to less creativity.
Source: How copyright is killing creativity — except Taylor Swift’s
European Union member states on Tuesday gave final agreement to the world’s first major law for regulating artificial intelligence, as institutions around the world race to introduce curbs for the technology. The EU Council said it had approved the AI Act — a groundbreaking piece of regulatory law that sets comprehensive rules surrounding artificial intelligence technology.
Source: World’s first major law for artificial intelligence gets final EU green light
The tech giant is rolling out AI-generated answers that displace links to human-written websites. The product, dubbed “Search Generative Experience,” or SGE, directly answers queries with complex, multi-paragraph replies that push links to other websites further down the page, where they’re less likely to be seen. The shift stands to shake the very foundations of the web.
Source: Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers
Earlier this year, Spotify released its annual Loud & Clear report which rounded up global royalties data. Now, Spotify has unveiled UK-specific equivalent data. The UK figures include the overarching (royalties generated by UK artists from Spotify exceeded £750M in 2023) and drill down to artist-level (the number of UK artists who generated over £10,000 and £50,000 in royalties from Spotify in 2023 has doubled since 2017).
Source: Spotify reveals UK-specific streaming royalties data
For many creatives, AI has evolved from a fear striking buzzword to steadfast companion. It’s now a tool that is seamlessly and regularly applied to the whole of the creative process: from ideation, through strategy and production, to execution. Its ability to streamline production and enhance outputs makes it a necessity for industry professionals — if you aren’t using it, your competitors are.
Source: How generative AI is influencing the creator economy
Members of SAG-AFTRA voted to ratify the 2024 Sound Recordings Code with record labels, approving a new contract with AI protections. Under this agreement, the terms “artist,” “singer,” and “royalty artist” only include humans, with “clear and conspicuous consent” alongside minimum compensation requirements and specific details of intended use required prior to the release of a sound recording that uses a digital replication of an artist’s voice.
Source: SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify Major Label AI Protection Agreement
Today’s big news: Universal Music Group and TikTok, by way of a joint announcement, have confirmed that they have struck a new licensing deal – three months after UMG pulled its recordings catalog from the service. What does this new deal mean for UMG and its artists and songwriters? Standout headline: More money. Reminder: according to Universal, TikTok’s royalty payouts to UMG prior to this new deal constituted just 1% of UMG’s total revenues.
Stock photographers who survived the disruptive advent of digital cameras and online sales are bracing themselves for the next great tech shock: generative AI. Some are predicting the worst. “The stock photography industry is going away,” said Connecticut-based photographer Tony Northrup.
Source: The Last Stock Photographers Await Their Fate Under Generative AI
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted that banning TikTok in the European Union is an option, during a debate this evening in Maastricht, featuring parties’ lead candidates for the bloc’s 2024 election. “It is not excluded,” von der Leyen said, after the moderator referred to the United States, where TikTok faces a national ban unless it is sold by its owner, ByteDance.
Source: TikTok ban in EU is ‘not excluded,’ von der Leyen says
British antitrust authorities are reviewing partnerships between tech giants and smaller AI developers, citing concerns about competition. This inquiry could reshape the AI industry’s landscape. Some experts warned that a strict antitrust ruling may not only alter how major corporations interact with emerging AI firms but could also dampen enthusiasm for new partnerships, possibly stalling the pace of innovation.
Source: As British Regulators Scrutinize Microsoft and Amazon AI Deals, Industry Braces for Impact