2 Live Crew Wins Back Copyright Control of Their Work

Classic hip-hop group 2 Live Crew have won a jury verdict allowing them to regain legal control of the majority of their catalog from a small record label that has owned their copyrights for decades. Attorneys for Lil Joe Records, which bought the band’s catalog out of bankruptcy back in 1996, insisted that termination shouldn’t apply to 2 Live Crew’s albums, arguing the catalog was “work for hire.” But 2 Live Crew’s attorneys countered that the right to terminate was “inalienable” and couldn’t be forfeited, with which the jury agreed.

Source: 2 Live Crew Wins Back Copyright Control of Their Work

AI regulation gets a bad rap—but lawmakers around the world are doing a decent job 

The implementation of the EU’s AI Act is the most recent in a series of laws emanating from Brussels that have divided opinion, hot on the heels of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which came into force in 2018 and 2023 respectively. Yes, the act undoubtedly has flaws, but its pros far outweigh its cons.

Source: AI regulation gets a bad rap—but lawmakers around the world are doing a decent job so far

EU AI Act checker reveals Big Tech’s compliance pitfalls

Some of the most prominent artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in key areas such as cybersecurity resilience and discriminatory output, according to data seen by Reuters. A new tool, which has been welcomed by European Union officials, has tested generative AI models developed by big tech companies like Meta tab and OpenAI across dozens of categories, in line with the bloc’s wide-sweeping AI Act, which is coming into effect in stages over the next two years.

Source: EU AI Act checker reveals Big Tech’s compliance pitfalls

Macron calls for fairer music streaming model after France imposes ‘music streaming tax’

French President Emmanuel Macron has reignited the debate on music streaming payments, expressing concerns about the fairness of the current model for artists. “Today, with music streaming services, singers do not receive fair remuneration,” Emmanuel Macron said. “In the case of streaming, they decide to pay people who are streamed a lot very well. But in the music field, for instance, they undervalue a variety of artists who have average following.”

Source: Macron calls for fairer music streaming model after France imposes ‘music streaming tax’

Spotify expands music videos to 85 new markets

Spotify is taking the next step in its effort to become a video platform, announcing on Tuesday (October 15) that it’s expanding music video streaming to 85 new markets. Spotify didn’t specify which countries or regions are included in the rollout, but noted that the new offer is available only to Premium subscribers, and comes with “a limited catalog of music videos.” The US is not on the list of new markets, the Verge reports.

Source: Spotify expands music videos to 85 new markets

Pink Floyd’s Complicated $400 Million Music Rights Sale to Sony

Pink Floyd’s music rights sale has had plenty of twists and turns, like a screenplay stuck in development hell. But the legendary English rock band has agreed to sell its recorded music, name, image, and likeness to Sony Music for $400 million. But it’s rare to see a deal that large that doesn’t include publishing rights. Instead, this Pink Floyd deal should be looked at as a pure streaming revenue play given its focus on recorded music.

Source: Pink Floyd’s Complicated $400 Million Music Rights Sale to Sony

Can a Start-Up Help Authors Get Paid by A.I. Companies?

The Authors Guild, the largest and oldest professional organization for writers in the United States, is teaming with a new start-up, Created by Humans, to help writers license rights to their books to artificial intelligence companies. The partnership, announced Wednesday, comes as authors and publishers are wrestling with the rapid incursion of artificial intelligence into the book world.

Source: Can a Start-Up Help Authors Get Paid by A.I. Companies?

Bookwire Offers ‘Protection’ From Wrongful AI Usage

If rights holders don’t want their content to be used for the training of language models, they must attach a legally compliant, machine-readable usage reservation (TDM opt-out) to their content. “Effective immediately, all ebooks and audiobooks distributed by Bookwire,” the company says in its statement, “will be equipped with a TDM opt-out notice in ONIX data. Additionally, the TDM opt-out is stored in the metadata of all EPUBs that we deliver via the TDMRep protocol.”

Source: Frankfurt Countdown: Bookwire Offers ‘Protection’ From Wrongful AI Usage

The MLC nears $2.5bn in royalty distributions to songwriters and publishers since 2021

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), the entity that collects mechanical royalties in the US, has announced it has distributed nearly $2.5 billion in royalties since it began operations three-and-a-half years ago. That’s up by roughly $1 billion in just the past year (The MLC reported in October 2023 that it had distributed $1.5bn in royalties) and up by almost $500 million since March,

Source: The MLC nears $2.5bn in royalty distributions to songwriters and publishers since 2021

Netflix Chief Doubles Down on Streamer’s Dealmaking Terms 

With the growth of Netflix and other streamers, top creators are starting to feel the loss of the long-tail income from syndication runs and international licensing, which is now limited to streamers with global scope such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max and Disney+. Despite eye-popping upfront fees paid to top creative talent, the loss of annuity-like income from successful TV shows and movies has hit Hollywood hard in the pocketbook.

Source: Netflix Chief Doubles Down on Streamer’s Dealmaking Terms and Limited Theatrical Release Strategy

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