Marketplace

Spotify Stream Minimum Cost Indies $47M in 2024, Exec Estimates

According to one music industry exec’s estimate, the controversial Spotify stream minimum cost emerging artists $47 million during 2024. As many know, that approach sees Spotify pay recording royalties only for tracks with at least 1,000 annual streams. Implemented (along with other changes) at the behest of the majors, the revamped model is effectively preventing the vast majority of uploaded recordings from generating payments.

Source: Spotify Stream Minimum Cost Indies $47M in 2024, Exec Estimates

Deezer Says 20,000 AI-Generated Songs Are Uploaded Daily

Global streaming platform Deezer has reported that over 20,000 entirely AI-generated tracks — or around 18% of all tracks — are uploaded to its platform daily. That’s an increase from the previously reported 10% in January, when Deezer launched its cutting-edge AI music detection tool. The company’s AI music detection tool sets an industry standard — but the onslaught of AI-generated music is unrelenting.

Source: Deezer Says 20,000 AI-Generated Songs Are Uploaded Daily

DVD & Blu-ray Sales Have Dropped 90% Since 2014 As Streaming Grows

As streaming dominates home entertainment, with 59.6 million U.S. households cutting the cord per Evoca.tv, the physical media market for DVDs and Blu-rays has seen a dramatic fall over the past decade. New data reveals that combined DVD and Blu-ray sales in the U.S. dropped from $10.1 billion in 2014 to an estimated $900 million in 2024, a decline of over 91%.

Source: DVD & Blu-ray Sales Have Dropped 90% Since 2014 As Streaming Grows | Cord Cutters News

Global Media Consumption Will Decline This Year For First Time Since 2009 – Study

Global media consumption will fall 0.3% this year compared with 2024, which would be the first decline since 2009, research firm PQ Media predicts. “Also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content, as consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars,” PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn said.

Source: Global Media Consumption Will Decline This Year For First Time Since 2009 – Study

Why Hollywood Is Terrified of Tariffs

A recession now could be the thing that pushes linear TV off the edge. “Given the ongoing secular headwinds facing the linear TV ecosystem, we worry that television could mirror the fate of radio and newspapers during past recessions,” MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson wrote in an April 9 report, adding that $45 billion in ad revenue could be lost in a recessionary situation.

Source: Volatility Bites: Why Hollywood Is Terrified of Tariffs

BBC study revealing scale of AI-generated news inaccuracies is ‘crucial checkpoint’ 

The BBC’s recent study into AI-generated news summaries is a sobering reminder of the potential and profound limitations of generative AI. While artificial intelligence is often lauded as the inevitable next step in media evolution, the findings from this trial expose a more unsettling truth: AI, in its current form, is incapable of reliably processing and presenting accurate news.

Source: BBC study revealing scale of AI-generated news inaccuracies is ‘crucial checkpoint’ but we shouldn’t write the tech off

Sony, Warner Chappell, Concord, Reservoir urge less regulation of PROs 

Leading music publishers including Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Concord, and Reservoir have submitted responses to the US Copyright Office’s inquiry into Performance Rights Organizations (PROs). All have argued strongly for reduced regulation in the sector. The US Copyright Office launched its investigation in February, examining “questions related to the increase in the number of PROs and the licensing revenue distribution practices of PROs”.

Source: Sony, Warner Chappell, Concord, Reservoir urge less regulation of PROs in responses to US Copyright Office inquiry

From AI Barbie to ‘Ghiblification’ ChatGPT’s image generator put pressure on OpenAI

ChatGPT’s new image-generation tool led to a record number of users in April, forcing OpenAI’s boss to beg people to “chill out a bit”. With ChatGPT-4o, users can transform photos or memes into distinctive styles – making them look like they came straight out of The Simpsons, Rick And Morty or South Park. The internet has also discovered that the update makes it possible to recreate themselves in Barbie doll form.

Source: From AI Barbie to ‘Ghiblification’ – how ChatGPT’s image generator put ‘insane’ pressure on OpenAI

Spotify Invests $1.1M to Ramp Up Non-English Audiobooks

Spotify has announced a plan to invest €1 million ($1.1 million) to boost audiobook production in languages other than English, starting with French and Dutch. Adoption of Spotify’s audiobook offerings has been relatively slow in the Netherlands and France. According to Spotify, only about 20,000 audiobooks in French compared to around 750,000 physical books. In the Netherlands, around 15,000 Dutch audiobooks are available out of a physical library of around 209,000 titles.

Source: Spotify Invests $1.1M to Ramp Up Non-English Audiobooks

OpenAI Asks Court to Bar Elon Musk From Unfairly Attacking It

OpenAI asked a federal court on Wednesday to bar Elon Musk from unfairly attacking it through a high-profile lawsuit he filed last year, the latest move in a bitter feud between the artificial intelligence start-up and the world’s richest man. In a filing in federal court in San Francisco, OpenAI said Mr. Musk had “made it his project to take down OpenAI.” The company asked the court to hold Mr. Musk responsible for any damage he has caused the firm.

Source: OpenAI Asks Court to Bar Elon Musk From Unfairly Attacking It

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