Napster, the brand synonymous with the music piracy boom of the early 2000s, has a new copyright challenge. Together with audio giant Sonos, Napster faces a lawsuit demanding over $3.4 million in alleged unpaid copyright royalties. Filed by SoundExchange, the complaint centers on missed payments related to the “Sonos Radio” service, which until 2023 was powered by Napster’s music catalog.
Source: Napster and Sonos Sued for Millions in Unpaid Music Royalties * TorrentFreak
Trump will issue a third executive order delaying enforcement of the so-called TikTok ban for 90 days, the White House said. Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, ByteDance is required to sell a controlling interest in TikTok to non-Chinese owners or be outlawed. The law does not permit Trump to postpone its enforcement. But he has done so anyway.
Source: Trump Will Delay Enforcing TikTok Ban for a Third Time, White House Says
Music catalog management platform and business engine OpenPlay has announced a new collaboration with Trolley, the end-to-end payouts platform for the internet economy. The partnership will see Trolley integrated into OpenPlay Reach, the recently launched service designed to support royalty management and payout of music and video assets.
Source: OpenPlay & Trolley Partnership to Streamline Royalty Payments
Audiobook listeners and listening hours on Spotify increased by more than 30% and 35%, respectively, from January 2024 to January 2025 in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, helping to boost audio sales of several major publishers, according to the streaming service. The growth aligns with broader industry trends. The Audio Publishers Association recently reported that audiobook sales grew by 13% in 2024, with 99% of revenues generated by digital audiobooks.
Source: New Listeners Boosting Sales for Spotify, Publishers
Funding deals rarely operate the way they’re initially advertised. Factors like cash timing, recoupment rates, and long-term obligations can significantly affect an artist’s cash flow and ownership rights over time. beatBread’s Deal Comparison Tool models these variables across different performance scenarios, simulating annual cash flows and total costs. It helps users identify hidden risks and avoid getting locked into unfavorable terms.
Source: How data-driven tools are changing the way artists and labels finance their businesses
Proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have been delayed by at least a year as UK ministers plan a bumper bill to regulate the technology and its use of copyrighted material. Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, intends to introduce a “comprehensive” AI bill in the next parliamentary session to address concerns about issues including safety and copyright.
Source: UK ministers delay AI regulation amid plans for more ‘comprehensive’ bill
NMPA General Counsel Danielle Aguirre said Spotify’s bundling practice has already resulted in $230 million in lost revenue during its first year. Aguirre added that “these losses will continue if we can’t reverse or correct Spotify’s actions. In fact, if we don’t stop them, we are projected to lose over $3.1 billion through the next CRB period,” which will be Phonorecords V, which determines mechanical royalty rates for 2028 through 2032.
Source: NMPA says Spotify ‘bundling’ move could cost music publishers $3.1bn through 2032
The major and the Silver Lake-backed investment firm unveiled that JV today, with plans in place to spearhead growth “outside traditional recorded music and music publishing.” Though time will tell exactly what this entails, the companies intend to zero in on film, TV, fashion, consumer products, brands, and more.
Source: Universal Music, Patrick Whitesell Debut Diversification-Geared JV
According to research by MarketsandMarkets, the global market for AI training datasets is projected to grow from $2.68 billion in 2024 to $11.16 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of over 22%. Yet the size of the market tells only part of the story. Much of this activity happens under NDA, without pricing transparency, and often with questionable sourcing. The line between what is licensed and what is scraped remains blurred, and, increasingly, contested.
Source: The Hidden Economy Behind AI: Data Licensing Takes Center Stage – Kaptur
To offer users a tidy AI summary instead of Google’s “10 blue links,” companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic have started sending out bots to retrieve and recap content in real time. According to data shared exclusively with The Washington Post, traffic from retrieval bots grew 49 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from the fourth quarter of 2024.
Source: ‘This is coming for everyone’: A new kind of AI bot takes over the web