Spotify has moved to dismiss with prejudice an unpaid-royalties lawsuit filed against it by the MLC over sweeping bundling reclassifications. “At the heart of this dispute is an easily answered question: Is audiobook streaming distinct from music streaming, offering greater than token value?” the motion sums up. “The answer is indisputably yes, and there is no need for federal court litigation to confirm it.”
Source: Spotify Asks Court to Toss MLC Bundling & Royalties Lawsuit
A bill to protect performers from unauthorized AI replicas was approved by the California Senate on Tuesday and will soon head to the governor’s desk. SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, has made the bill one of its top legislative priorities this year. AB 2602 would require explicit consent for the use of a “digital replica” of a performer.
Source: SAG-AFTRA Wins Passage of California Bill to Limit AI Replicas
The passage of AB 1836, which now awaits the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom, comes four days after the state Senate passed AB 2602, which toughens the consent requirements for the use of AI to replicate living performers. “For those who would use the digital replicas of deceased performers in films, TV shows, videogames, audiobooks, sound recordings and more, without first getting the consent of those performers’ estates, the California Senate just said NO,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.
Source: California Passes Law Requiring Consent for AI Digital Replicas of Dead Performers
SGA, MCNA, and the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) today reached out with a formal release doubling down on demands for “much-needed operational and structural improvements” to the Mechanical Licensing Collective. Those improvements were most recently described by Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) in a letter to Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter late last month.
Source: Federal Lawmaker Urges Mechanical Licensing Collective Reforms
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors & Composers (CISAC) has integrated AllTrack with its exclusive data exchange tools. AllTrack has joined ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC as fellow U.S.-based PROs affiliated with CISAC. Common Information System tools has made it seamless for collection societies around the world to connect directly with AllTrack.
Within TIDAL Artist Home, songwriters will be able to organize their IPI, PRO and publisher information in one place. They’ll also be prompted to sign up for mechanical royalties through The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). Artists signing up with a PRO for the first time will be able to register with AllTrack. Songwriters will be able to view and manage their writing credits and metadata to ensure all their works are correctly matched and registered, helping them to earn money, TIDAL said.
Source: TIDAL launches tool for US songwriters to claim and manage their work
The class action lawsuit filed by several visual artists against AI image and video generation platforms StabilityAI, Midjourney, Runway and DeviantArt moved forward to the discovery stage last week. The lawsuit is one of the first legal challenges to AI platforms to reach this stage and could set the tone for other cases filed against AI companies.
Source: What’s next for artists suing Stability AI and Midjourney
As part of the partnership, content from Vogue, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Wired, Bon Appétit and more will be used within OpenAI products, including ChatGPT and the company’s Search GPT prototype, a new search feature which offers direct links to news stories. The company plans to eventually integrate it directly into ChatGPT.
Source: Condé Nast Inks Multiyear OpenAI Deal for Its Magazine Brands
Symphonic Distribution has forged a partnership with AI attribution and license management company, Musical AI, that will allow its users to become part of a licensed dataset used in AI training. Joining the dataset is a choice that Symphonic users must opt-in to and participating artists can earn additional income for their contribution.
Source: Symphonic Opens Up Catalog to Train AI Models Through Musical AI Partnership
Why haven’t any of Hollywood’s major studios pulled the trigger yet on a licensing deal with the tech giants looking to train their AI models? It turns out there are many reasons. Factors range from considerable legal risks to fears of repeating a grave strategic error Hollywood made in its first dealings with Netflix. But one of the biggest concerns is a simple one: price.
Source: How Much Should AI Giants Pay Hollywood? What Insiders Say Has Stalled Any Licensing Deals