The deal encompasses both the recording and publishing side of Downtown’s business, and paves the way for millions of licensed recordings from Downtown’s extensive catalog to be added to Audius. It also unlocks a new way for Downtown’s artists and labels to directly connect with their fans and control how their music is monetized beyond the typical streaming model.
Source: Downtown Licenses Content to Audius Blockchain Platform
Artificial intelligence was a major factor in the actors strike of 2023 and the burgeoning technology will remain a key element in next year’s negotiations. Speaking on a Deadline-moderated panel at SeriesFest in Denver, Crabtree-Ireland, who is National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator at SAG-AFTRA, revealed that the guild would be “starting our preparations for negotiations this fall.” He said that he believes that AI will be an important factor in these talks.
Source: SAG-AFTRA Chief Lays Out What AI Protections It Will Be Looking For In Next Studio Contract
In an essay published to his personal website, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced plans to create a robust “MRI on AI” within the next decade. “When a generative AI system does something, like summarize a financial document, we have no idea, at a specific or precise level, why it makes the choices it does — why it chooses certain words over others, or why it occasionally makes a mistake despite usually being accurate,” the Anthropic CEO admitted.
Freepik, the online graphic design platform, unveiled a new “open” AI image model on Tuesday that the company says was trained exclusively on commercially licensed, “safe-for-work” images. The model, called F Lite, contains around 10 billion parameters — parameters being the internal components that make up the model. F Lite joins a small and growing collection of generative AI models trained on licensed data.
Source: Freepik releases an ‘open’ AI image generator trained on licensed data | TechCrunch
Udio, an AI music startup facing ongoing litigation from major record labels alongside its competitor Suno, has struck a new partnership with content identification platform Audible Magic. The move creates what the companies call a “content control pipeline” that allows streaming services and distributors to identify AI-generated tracks from Udio’s platform and apply appropriate licensing rules.
Source: Udio and Audible Magic team up to tackle rights management in AI-generated music
To date, AI music companies in the United States are not required to honor opt-outs, but through this partnership, Sureel and Beatstars, the world’s largest music marketplace, hope to create clarity for AI music companies that are wishing to avoid legal and reputational risks and create a digital ledger to keep track of beatmakers’ wishes regarding AI training.
Source: BeatStars Partners With Sureel to Provide AI Training Opt-Outs for Creators
A number of commenters asserted that AI is exploitative, in a word, trained on the works of creatives who aren’t compensated for their involuntary contributions, and petitioned the Trump administration to strengthen copyright regulation. On the opposing side, commenters such as VC firm Andreessen Horowitz accused rightsholders of putting up roadblocks to AI development.
Source: Public comments to White House on AI policy touch on copyright, tariffs | TechCrunch
Actors are earning good money by licensing their likenesses to AI companies — but some are now regretting it. A growing number of performers have been shocked to discover their likeness being used in ways they find embarrassing, damaging, or even harmful. In many cases, actors who didn’t fully grasp the long-term implications are now speaking out of licensing their image to AI.
Source: Actors are Regretting Licensing Their Likeness to AI Companies
With generative AI forging ahead unfettered, leaders in publishing and other creative industries are asking for licensing frameworks that protect creators while enabling technological innovation. New platforms and software are bringing solutions closer. Vered Horesh, chief of strategic AI partnerships at the visual generative AI company Bria.ai described how Bria developed attribution technology that “measures the impact of any authentic asset being provided into the training catalog on any synthetic output being generated.”
Source: As Industry Demands AI Licensing Frameworks, Emerging Tech Can Help
Global streaming platform Deezer has reported that over 20,000 entirely AI-generated tracks — or around 18% of all tracks — are uploaded to its platform daily. That’s an increase from the previously reported 10% in January, when Deezer launched its cutting-edge AI music detection tool. The company’s AI music detection tool sets an industry standard — but the onslaught of AI-generated music is unrelenting.
Source: Deezer Says 20,000 AI-Generated Songs Are Uploaded Daily