As studios and agencies begin quietly modeling what AI means for long-term franchises and aging stars, Pitt represents a category that executives increasingly focus on: globally recognizable talent whose commercial value extends beyond peak physical performance. In other words, stars whose brand will outlive their on-screen output.
Source: Brad Pitt and the Economics of the Digital Double — AI In Hollywood
Pipeline was launched by Matt Spetzler’s investment firm Jamen Capital. Just days after going public with the new platform, Spetzler’s Pipeline has already struck a partnership with independent power player Merlin. Pipeline’s deal with the indie licensing agency, which claims to represent 15% of the global recorded music market, will give Merlin members access to advances against digital royalties.
Source: Matt Spetzler’s $200m-backed Pipeline to fund indie advances via new Merlin pact
On Thursday, Spotify announced the beta rollout of its new AI-powered Prompted Playlist feature for Premium subscribers in the United States and Canada. The company first tested the feature in New Zealand last month, building on an earlier AI playlist feature launched in 2024. Now, users can request what they want to hear in much more detail compared to the earlier version.
Source: Spotify Releases ‘Prompted Playlists’ in the US and Canada
On Friday, a class action lawsuit filed against NVIDIA back in 2024 by several authors who claimed the company’s AI models were illegally trained on their works was amended, vastly expanding the scope of the litigation. The amended lawsuit now includes more books, authors, and infringing AI models, as well as claims involving the controversial “shadow library” Anna’s Archive.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said reducing “AI slop” and detecting deepfakes are priorities for the Google-owned video site in 2026. “It’s becoming harder to detect what’s real and what’s AI-generated,” Mohan wrote in his annual letter published Wednesday. “This is particularly critical when it comes to deepfakes.” Mohan said the world is at an “inflection point,” where “the lines between creativity and technology are blurring.”
Source: YouTube chief says ‘managing AI slop’ is a priority for 2026
Meta’s enormous bet on virtual reality ended last week, with the company reportedly laying off roughly 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division — about 10% of the unit’s staff — and shutting down several VR game studios, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s a huge reversal for a company that, just four years ago, staked its entire identity on the concept. Few are going to miss it.
Billed as setting “a new global standard for how artificial intelligence and music creators coexist”, the deal will see the Lemonaide team fully join BeatStars as they strive to build “the world’s first ethical, creator-owned AI music ecosystem”. The firms previously struck a strategic alliance in 2023 as they sought “to establish a precedent for ethical AI business models in the music industry”.
Source: BeatStars acquires ‘ethical’ generative music startup Lemonaide AI
In addition to higher spending on originals, in 2026 Netflix plans to expand its lineup of licensed titles. Starting this month, Netflix customers will be able to watch new release live-action films under its new U.S. licensing partnership with Universal Studios. Netflix also disclosed ad revenue for the first time: In 2025, the company’s third year selling advertising, ad revenue came in at more than $1.5 billion, up more than 2.5-fold over 2024.
Source: Netflix Tops 325 Million Subscribers, Plans to Boost Content Spending 10% to $20 Billion in 2026
Explainer journalism brand Vox is using creator platform Patreon to help build a “two-way relationship” with its audience. US-based Vox expanded its existing paid memberships onto Patreon in November, providing subscribers with additional video content, ad-free video and podcast libraries, livestreams and chats with Vox journalists, and unlimited access to the main Vox website.
Source: How Vox is using Patreon to grow reader revenue and interaction
The complaint describes Anna’s Archive as formerly known as the “Pirate Library Mirror” and accuses it of “brazen theft of millions of files containing nearly all of the world’s commercial sound recordings.” According to court documents, on January 2, the record labels obtained an emergency temporary restraining order, and on January 20, Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued a preliminary injunction after Anna’s Archive failed to appear at a hearing or file any response to the court.