The confusion and anger surrounding an Adobe Terms of Use update last week caused Adobe to revisit its language and communications at large. Beyond a blog post late last week, Adobe today published another blog post, announcing plans for direct communications with customers and an updated Terms of Use.
Source: Adobe Revising Terms of Use to Clarify Content Licensing, AI, and Privacy
OpenAI’s licensing deals with The Atlantic and Vox last week show that both sides of the table are interested in landing these AI-training content licensing agreements. Human Native AI is a London-based startup building a marketplace to broker such deals between the many companies building LLM projects and those willing to license data to them.
Source: Deal Dive: Human Native AI is building the marketplace for AI training licensing deals | TechCrunch
Twitch has struck deals with all three major music companies, including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and a large number of independent labels via Merlin. According to Twitch, since early 2020, the number of DJs streaming on the service has more than quadrupled and that “over 15,000 of them
Source: Sony, Universal, Warner and Merlin strike music licensing deals with Twitch for DJ livestreams
While AI can produce generic music, many critics argue that it lacks the originality of human-created works. Merlin Connect seeks to address this by providing emerging tech platforms with access to a vast library of “high-quality” music from independent artists, the organization said Wednesday (June 5).
Source: Merlin launches ‘Merlin Connect’ to provide tech platforms with licensed indie music
YouTube’s latest Transparency Report shows that fewer copyright holders used the Content ID system to protect their works. Despite the modest decline, the claim volume continues to grow. For the first time, the number of processed claims exceeded one billion in the six-month reporting period.
Source: YouTube Processed a Billion Content ID Copyright Claims in Six Months * TorrentFreak
The recent wave of deals with OpenAI means publishers are getting compensated for their content being used to feed and train large language models (LLMs). This has been a major sticking point for publishers as these large tech companies have scraped their content without permission or payment. But the agreements are also getting a fair amount of criticism. Compensation for use of content is good for a publisher, but are they getting paid enough?
Composers and songwriters are looking to receive an additional $8 million (£6 million) in royalties from online services each year from PRS for Music. CEO Andrea Czapary Martin announced a 20% reduction in the administration rate from multi-territory online (MTOL) royalties’ collection — the result of the collective management organization surpassing its targets and delivering historic distributions and revenues.
Source: PRS for Music Squeezes Out Another $8 Million for Songwriters
Google’s pivot to artificial intelligence has news publishers freaking out—and running to the government. “Agency intervention is necessary to stop the existential threat Google poses to original content creators,” the News/Media Alliance wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It asked the agencies to use antitrust authority “to stop Google’s latest expansion of AI Overviews.”
Source: News publishers try to sic the government on Google AI
Broadcast news production company ITN has become the first UK news organization to announce a deal seeking to safeguard its archive from the threat of AI. The deal with tech company Open Origins will see every one of ITN‘s more than a million video clips of news footage validated and secured using blockchain technology.
Source: ITN signs deal to protect video archive from AI and license content
HSF confirmed the slightly increased bid via a formal release today, a little over two weeks after Concord officially bowed out of the acquisition battle. This high-stakes competition for the entirety of Hipgnosis Songs Fund – encompassing the rights to the work of Shakira, Barry Manilow, Timbaland, and a number of others – seemingly marks the final chapter in the entity’s turbulent story.
Source: Blackstone Ups Hipgnosis Songs Fund Offer to $1.31 Per Share