Marketplace

An Estimated 73% of YouTube Music Subs Use Bundled Plans

Spotify’s main competitors – it along with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music collectively account for the vast majority of music streaming subscribers in the States – haven’t been as brazen in adopting bundles. But as demonstrated by publisher royalty statements shared with and vetted by DMN, they also rely heavily on multi-product packages. For YouTube Music, the fourth-largest on-demand music platform in the U.S. by paid users, that refers to the estimated 72.99% of subscribers who access the service via a bundled plan.

Source: An Estimated 73% of YouTube Music Subs Use Bundled Plans

Microsoft Quits OpenAI’s Board Amid Antitrust Scrutiny

Microsoft has relinquished its seat as an observer on the board of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic scrutinize the partnership between the tech giant and the artificial-intelligence startup. In a letter sent Tuesday to the AI company led by Sam Altman, Microsoft said it resigned with immediate effect because it believed OpenAI’s board had gained stability, meaning Microsoft’s involvement was no longer necessary.

Source: Microsoft Quits OpenAI’s Board Amid Antitrust Scrutiny

Sesac Music Group talks acquisitions, expansion and the fight against fraud

“Most people know Sesac as a US-based performing rights organization. But, over the last eight years, we’ve acquired eleven companies and organically grown and broadened our business model…” That’s John Josephson speaking: the CEO who has overseen Sesac Music Group’s expansion into an organisation with three new business lines alongside its traditional business, and operations in territories well beyond the US.

Source: Sesac Music Group talks acquisitions, expansion and the fight against fraud

Is AI the Bitter End—or the Lucrative Future—of Book Publishing?

Throughout its history, the publishing industry has always needed a boogeyman to represent new developments threatening the good old way of doing things. “Barnes & Noble was that for a while because it was a chain and because they had centralized bookselling,” says Boris Kachka, author of Hothouse: The Art of Survival and the Survival of Art at America’s Most Celebrated Publishing House. “Then Amazon became the big bad guy, and Barnes & Noble looked old-school all of a sudden.”

Source: Is AI the Bitter End—or the Lucrative Future—of Book Publishing?

‘Landmark Victory’: Copyright Office Finalizes Rule Change On Streaming Royalties

The U.S. Copyright Office has finalized a new rule aimed at ensuring that songwriters who invoke termination rights to regain control of their music will actually start getting paid streaming royalties after they do so. The provision, issued on Tuesday, will overturn what the Copyright Office called an “erroneous” earlier policy by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, which critics feared would have kept sending money from streamers like Spotify to former owners in perpetuity, long after a songwriter took back ownership.

Source: ‘Landmark Victory’: Copyright Office Finalizes Rule Change On Streaming Royalties

UK music bodies welcome new government with policy requests

The UK will have a new government this morning, after the Labour party won a landslide in its general election. British music bodies have been quick to welcome the new administration, but also to remind it of their key policy requests. “The incoming Labour Government has been elected on a platform to implement a plan for the creative sector as part of its industrial strategy. The potential of the UK music industry to contribute to growth must be at the heart of this plan,” UK Music head Tom Kiehl said.

Source: UK music bodies welcome new government with policy requests

YouTube now lets you request removal of AI-generated deepfakes of yourself

Meta is not the only company grappling with the rise in AI-generated content and how it affects its platform. YouTube also quietly rolled out a policy change in June that will allow people to request the takedown of AI-generated or other synthetic content that simulates their face or voice. The change allows people to request the removal of this type of AI content under YouTube’s privacy request process. It’s an expansion on its previously announced approach to responsible AI agenda first introduced in November.

Source: YouTube now lets you request removal of AI-generated content that simulates your face or voice | TechCrunch

Hollywood’s Newest Money-Making Scheme Is… Books

Buying and selling movie scripts has been a thing since ‘Pulp Fiction,’ but now, Hollywood is transforming the trend from a nerdy side-hustle to a major source of revenue and prestige. “If the bulk of the proceeds from a screenplay book flow directly to a writer, then they should absolutely publish more of them,” Capps says. “In my experience, the industry has developed very efficient systems to deprive writers of the money they’re owed.”

Source: Hollywood’s Newest Money-Making Scheme Is… Books

Merck Mercuriadis to Exit as Hipgnosis Song Management Chairman 

His departure from the company will be effective upon closing of the proposed acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited by Lyra Bidco Limited, a company owned by Blackstone-managed funds. Blackstone already owns two other elements of Hipgnosis — the investment fund Hipgnosis Songs Capital and the advisor Hipgnosis Song Management.

Source: Merck Mercuriadis to Exit as Hipgnosis Song Management Chairman Ahead of Blackstone Acquisition

MTV News Repository Launched by Internet Archive After Paramount Content Purge

After Paramount pulled MTV News offline, the Internet Archive assembled a searchable index of 460,575 pages previously published at mtv.com/news. You can search the MTV News archive on the organization’s Wayback Machine. In recent weeks, Paramount Global, amid its ongoing financial challenges, similarly yanked down thousands of CMT articles and purged video content from Comedy Central’s site.

Source: MTV News Repository of 460,000 Articles Launched by Internet Archive After Paramount Content Purge

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