ElevenLabs, the software company specializing in AI-generated audio, has launched ElevenReader Publishing, a platform that offers free audiobook production and distribution. Through ElevenReader, rights holders can upload their books as ePub, DOCX, or PDF files, which are then converted to AI-generated audiobooks, for which authors and publishers can choose the voice of the narrator.
Source: ElevenLabs Launches Publishing Platform for AI-Generated Audiobooks
ASCAP, the only performing rights organization in the U.S. to operate on a not-for-profit basis, delivered a record-breaking $1.835 billion in revenue in the 2024 calendar year, an increase of $98 million, or 5.7% over 2023, with $1.696 billion available for royalty distributions — up by $104 million, or 6.5%. The numbers mark the highest amount in revenue and royalty distributions to creators and music publishers in ASCAP’s history.
Source: ASCAP Posts Record-Breaking $1.835 Billion in Revenue for 2024
The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT
has launched its video generation tool in the UK amid a deepening row between the tech sector and creative industries over copyright. Beeban Kidron, the film director and crossbench peer, said the introduction of OpenAI’s Sora in the UK added “another layer of urgency to the copyright debate.”
Source: OpenAI launches Sora video generation tool in UK amid copyright row
Spotify is developing premium-tier AI music creation tools that could transform passive listeners into active creators while generating higher revenue streams. There are some pretty big hurdles, most prominently the question of rights. Are artists and record companies happy with the idea that a million personalized remixes of their treasured IP could suddenly explode into existence? It’s been speculated that this might be why Spotify isn’t yet ready to publicly announce a launch date for the new premium tier service.
Source: Spotify’s Bold AI Gamble Could Disrupt The Entire Music Industry
Ministers are planning to offer key concessions to their plans to make it easier for artificial intelligence companies to use copyright-protected work, in a partial climbdown after weeks of lobbying from some of the world’s most famous artists. Sources have told the Guardian that ministers have accepted the need to protect British creative industries from the plans, which would otherwise have made their work available for access by AI companies unless they deliberately opted out.
Source: UK ministers consider changing AI plans to protect creative industries
Creative and media industries have teamed up on this “Make It Fair” initiative, calling for readers to help protect British creative industries. The campaign was created to fight government proposals that would allow artificial intelligence companies to train their models on copyright-protected work without permission.
Source: UK newspapers blanket their covers to protest loss of AI protections
The company, which is an AI startup itself, will be an anchor investor in the fund, but outside limited partners will provide most of the capital, CNBC reported Tuesday (Feb. 25), citing unnamed sources. It was reported in December that the company closed a $500 million funding round earlier that month, with its backers including SoftBank, Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Source: Report: Perplexity Creating $50 Million Venture Fund for AI Startups | PYMNTS.com
The milestone came with February’s royalty payout, SoundExchange said in a statement on Monday (February 24). It comes less than a year after SoundExchange’s payouts passed the $11 billion mark in 2024. The non-profit also reported it had distributed $248.6 million to creators in Q4 2024, bringing gross distributions for 2024 to $1.05 billion, up 4.9% year over year.
Source: SoundExchange surpasses $12bn in distributions to artists and rightsholders to date
Today (February 25), Kobalt has launched a new publishing platform called KOSIGN aimed at emerging artists and songwriters. Kobalt estimates over $1 billion in publishing royalties goes uncollected every year. It says its new KOSIGN platform was built to help independent artists, songwriters, and producers collect their share of this uncollected publishing royalty pool.
According to Create, under the new deal, Pack Records (stylized “Pack.”) and its artists will gain access to CMG’s proprietary technology, global distribution, data-driven marketing insights, and monetization tools, which the companies say will provide “new growth opportunities while preserving [CMG artists’] creative independence.”
Source: $1bn-valued Create Music Group acquires catalog from Pack Records as companies form new JV