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Spotify has finally made the move to cut off white noise podcasters from its lucrative ads program, according to a new report. These ambient sounds account for 3 million daily consumption hours on the platform, after being boosted by Spotify’s algorithmic push for content with ‘talk’ vs. music. Although Spotify had originally incentivized these curators and podcasters to join the platform, white noise took listeners’ time away from major artists.

Source: Spotify Is Now Removing White Noise Creators From Ads Program

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s upcoming summit on artificial Intelligence could have implications for Hollywood – and the ongoing strikes that have shuttered the industry. Both Writers Guild President Meredith Stiehm and the Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin will attend the Sept. 13 event in D.C., which aims to establish a framework for regulating AI, a source confirmed.

Source: Hollywood honchos to join tech moguls at Chuck Schumer’s AI summit…

ASCAP took aim at BMI’s business model and rumored sales ambitions in a series of recently published social media posts. Though the relevant social posts don’t seem to mention BMI by name, the messages at hand are rather conspicuously directed towards the organization – and songwriters who may be considering jumping ship.

Source: ASCAP Rips BMI Over For-Profit Model, Reported Sales Talks

AI developers must be stopped from freely using music, literature and artwork to train their models, a group of British lawmakers have warned. In a new report, the UK government has been told that it must “rebuild trust” with creative industries and introduce safeguards to ensure their intellectual property isn’t mined for profit.

Source: AI Policy ‘Weaknesses’ in UK Put Artists at Risk, MPs Warn – Decrypt

The SEC has never regulated the art market or the trade of luxury goods. But might the Commission’s current antipathy for crypto-related products coax it to start regulating the sale of NFT-backed art projects, digital collectibles, and membership passes? Was Monday’s action the takedown of a run-of-the-mill securities scheme that only happened to feature NFTs, or a calculated signal that the SEC is coming for the entire NFT market?

Source: Did the SEC Just Declare War on NFTs? – Decrypt

Content creation is work, but in such a rapidly shifting social media landscape, creators face an uphill battle fighting for fair pay and ownership of  of their content. The CGA, which launched last week, describes itself as a “professional service organization” instead of a labor union. It won’t act as a collective bargaining unit or authorize strikes, but it does offer benefits that are “similar to those offered by unions,” according to its site.

Source: A new creator’s guild aims to protect online content creators | TechCrunch

For two decades, Google Search was the largely invisible force that determined the ebb and flow of online content. Now, for the first time since Google’s launch, a world without it at the center actually seems possible. We’re clearly at the end of one era and at the threshold of another. But to understand where we’re headed, we have to look back at how it all started.

Source: The end of the Googleverse

Source: The EU’s Digital Services Act goes into effect today: here’s what that means

The Independent Society of Musicians has published its sixth report on the impact Brexit has had on musicians in the UK. Based on canvassing more than 400 musicians and music industry professionals, it paints a stark picture of “an enormously damaging effect on [British] musicians’ ability to work in Europe”.

Source: ‘Paying the Price’ report outlines Brexit impact on musicians – Music Ally