Universal Music Group and Amazon Music have announced an expanded global relationship that will “enable further innovation, exclusive content with UMG artists, and advancement of artist-centric principles including increased fraud protection,” according to the announcement. While full details were not disclosed, the deal is intended to advance UMG’s “Streaming 2.0” strategy.
Source: Universal and Amazon Music Strike Deal to Collaborate on Streaming 2.0, Audiobooks and AI Protection
AI tools make professional-grade music production accessible to independent artists and producers. A Ditto Music survey of over 1,200 artists found that nearly 60% use AI in their projects. Tools like AIVA generate compositions based on specific parameters, replicating complex musical patterns. Automated mixing and mastering tools such as LANDR are also widely used, and 28.6% of producers consider them essential.
Source: 8 ways AI is changing the game for artists, musicians, and other creators
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued a wide-ranging report on Wednesday exploring the many complexities and intricacies of modern AI model development. It said that it was open to potentially allowing personal data, without owner’s consent, to train models, as long as the finished application does not reveal any of that private information.
Source: European authorities say AI can use personal data without consent for training
The Data Protection Authority said Friday that the Californian darling of the artificial intelligence sector processed users’ personal data to train its ChatGPT chat service without identifying an adequate legal basis and violated the country’s rules on transparency for users. It also said the company did not notify it of a March 2023 data breach.
Source: Italian Privacy Watchdog Fines OpenAI $15.5 Million Over ChatGPT Data Use
The injunction, issued by Judge Victor Torres in Rio de Janeiro’s sixth commercial court, requires Adele’s record labels, Sony Music and Universal Music Group, to stop “immediately and globally, from using, reproducing, editing, distributing or commercializing the song Million Years Ago, by any modality, means, physical or digital support, streaming or sharing platform.”
Source: Brazilian judge imposes streaming ban on Adele’s ‘Million Years Ago’ in plagiarism dispute
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would decide the constitutionality of a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. if the social-media app doesn’t shed its Chinese ownership. With the ban set to take effect Jan. 19, the court scheduled fast-track oral arguments for Jan. 10 on whether the law violates the First Amendment.
YouTube will bring in talent from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to help it build a tool to identify AI-generated content, including AI deepfakes of famous faces. As part of the collaboration, “several of the world’s most influential figures” will gain access to the tech YouTube is developing to “identify and manage” AI-generated content, YouTube said.
Source: YouTube partners with Creative Artists Agency on AI deepfake recognition tools
Virgin Music Group, the global independent music division of Universal Music Group, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Downtown Music Holdings LLC (Downtown) for cash consideration of $775 million (approximately €737 million). The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Source: Universal’s Virgin Music Group to buy Downtown Music for $775 million
The U.K. government is considering drafting new protections to safeguard artists from generative A.I. models that mimic their unique styles or likenesses, a measure being considered as a “right to personality.” Expected within two years, these regulations aim to address the growing clash between creative industries and A.I. developers over the use of copyrighted material in training algorithms.
Source: U.K. Could Grant Artists ‘Right to Personality’ in A.I. Regulation Review
YouTube is rolling out a way for creators to let third-party companies use their videos to train AI models. To be clear, the default setting for this is off, meaning that if you don’t want to let third-party companies scrape your videos for AI training, you don’t have to do anything. But if, for some reason, you do want to allow that — Google says that “some creators and rights holders” may want to — it’s going to be an option.
Source: YouTube is letting creators opt in to allowing third-party AI training