Rights

Round Hill, with $1.1bn music portfolio, strikes flurry of catalog acquisitions

The combined value of the transactions is believed to be upwards of $25 million. Round Hill said on Thursday (May 29) that these transactions bring its total catalog value under management back to over USD $1 billion ($1.1bn), following the $468.8 million sale of its London Stock Exchange-listed fund to Concord in 2023. Round Hill continues to manage five private funds following the sale of the UK-listed fund.

Source: Round Hill, with $1.1bn music portfolio, strikes flurry of catalog acquisitions

The Times and Amazon Announce an A.I. Licensing Deal

The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. Amazon’s use of editorial content from The Times could extend to the Alexa software found on its smart speakers. Material from The Times will also be used to train Amazon’s proprietary A.I. models, the company said.

Source: New York Times and Amazon Announce AI Licensing Deal

Getty Images Is Pouring Millions of Dollars Into One AI Lawsuit, CEO Says

Getty, one of the world’s largest stock photo companies, alleged that Stability AI illegally scraped more than 12 million copyright-protected photos, videos, and illustrations from its website to train its AI image generator. Now, Getty CEO Craig Peters says that though he believes Getty has a “very strong” case against Stability AI, fighting the AI company in court has been costly.

Source: ‘Extraordinarily Expensive’: Getty Images Is Pouring Millions of Dollars Into One AI Lawsuit, CEO Says

U.S. Govt. Backs Cox in Landmark Supreme Court Battle Over ISP Piracy Liability

The U.S. Solicitor General has urged the Supreme Court to accept Cox Communications’ petition in a landmark piracy liability lawsuit. The USSG argues that ISPs are not necessarily liable for pirating subscribers and warns that the current precedent may lead to disconnections for many innocent subscribers. At the same time, the USSG urged the court to deny a petition from the opposing music companies, which seeks to expand the current liability verdict.

Source: U.S. Govt. Backs Cox in Landmark Supreme Court Battle Over ISP Piracy Liability * TorrentFreak

YouTube’s Content ID payouts to rightsholders have passed $12bn

According to YouTube’s latest ‘Copyright Transparency Report’ the company had paid out $12bn of ad revenue to rightsholders as of December 2024 from content claimed and monetised through Content ID. That is up from more than $9bn at the end of 2023, suggesting Content ID payouts of $3bn last year. Bear in mind this isn’t all for music rightsholders: Content ID is also used by film studios, games companies and other media and entertainment rightsholders.

Source: YouTube’s Content ID payouts to rightsholders have passed $12bn

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

As policy makers in the UK weigh how to regulate the AI industry, Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former Meta executive, claimed a push for artist consent would “basically kill” the AI industry. “I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.”

Source: Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Music publishers file amended lawsuit against AI firm Anthropic

Music publishers have refiled their legal complaint against Anthropic, and the AI company has once again moved to have the case dismissed. But this time, the publishers say they come armed with a stronger case, and they argue Anthropic hasn’t. “For its part, Anthropic’s motion to dismiss simply rehashes some of the arguments from its earlier motion – while giving up on others altogether,” a spokesperson for the plaintiff publishing companies said.

Source: Music publishers file amended lawsuit against AI firm Anthropic, which they say ‘bolsters the case’ over company’s ‘unauthorized use of song lyrics’

Intercept Music Announces $50 Million Catalog Partnership

Intercept Music says it’s secured $50 million to invest in U.S. and Latin song rights under a ‘private partnership.’ “This is more than just a funding deal—it’s a commitment to restructuring music rights management,” Intercept CEO Tod Turner elaborated. “This partnership is a significant endorsement of our platform and strategy allowing us to combine capital with cutting-edge technology to unlock more value for artists, songwriters, and catalog owners.”

Source: Intercept Music Announces $50 Million Catalog Partnership

Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use

A day after the US Copyright Office dropped a bombshell pre-publication report challenging artificial intelligence firms’ argument that all AI training should be considered fair use, the Trump administration fired the head of the Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter—sparking speculation that the controversial report hastened her removal. Tensions have apparently only escalated since.

Source: Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use

UK government faces second House of Lords defeat over AI copyright rules

On Monday (May 12), the House of Lords voted 272 to 125 in favor of an amendment to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill that would require AI companies to disclose which copyrighted materials they used in training their systems. The amendment, which was introduced by crossbench peer Baroness Beeban Kidron, passed despite government opposition. It marks the second time the Lords have supported increased transparency measures in the Bill.

Source: UK government faces second House of Lords defeat over AI copyright rules

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