Judge denies Sony Music bid to add over 30,000 recordings to Udio lawsuit

A New York federal judge has denied Sony Music Entertainment‘s request to add 30,442 sound recordings to its copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music platform Udio. The ruling from Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, keeps the case at the 333 works that remain in the case. Sony filed the motion on May 22 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, saying it had identified the additional recordings after gaining access to Udio‘s training data in discovery.

Source: Judge denies Sony Music bid to add over 30,000 recordings to Udio lawsuit

Schatz introduces AI-generated content transparency bill

US Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaiʻi introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing transparency around artificial intelligence-generated content, requiring clear labels when people are viewing AI-made material or interacting with an AI chatbot. The AI Labeling Act comes amid growing concern in Hawaiʻi and nationally about the effects of unlabeled AI content, including reports that AI platforms are being used to create deep fake photos and generate scam calls using an AI-generated voice of a loved one.

Source: Schatz introduces AI-generated content transparency bill

Spotify slashes streams of hit song after suspicious activity on prediction market Kalshi

Spotify has removed more than 500,000 registered streams from Malcolm Todd‘s Earrings, after the song’s rise to No. 1 on the platform’s daily US chart was tied to bets placed on the prediction market Kalshi. Kalshi is a US prediction market, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on which users stake real money on future events – including which song will be the most-streamed on Spotify in the US in a given month.

Source: Spotify slashes streams of hit song after suspicious activity on prediction market Kalshi

Tilly Norwood to Lead New Movie ‘Misaligned,’ Marking Feature Debut for AI ‘Actor’

Tilly Norwood, the AI “actor” who sparked a frenzy of anger in Hollywood and across the wider industry in late 2025, is set to front her first feature film. “Misaligned,” announced by Particle 6, the AI-focussed studio behind Norwood, is described as a comedy-drama telling a “coming-of-age story infused with existential AI chaos.” Set inside the so-called “Tillyverse,” a surreal digital world located somewhere up in the Cloud, the film will follow Tilly, an AI being with no real body, no childhood and no lived experience of her own … only access to everyone else’s.

Source: Tilly Norwood to Lead New Movie ‘Misaligned,’ Marking Feature Debut for AI ‘Actor’

Cloudflare’s new policy pushes AI companies to pay for publishers’ content

Cloudflare has just issued the AI industry a new deadline to separate the web crawlers used for traditional search purposes, like Google Search, from those used for AI agents and training. Starting on September 15, 2026, Cloudflare’s default settings will block “mixed-use” crawlers from any pages that host ads, the company announced on Wednesday. That means that the crawlers that blend search, agent use, and training will be blocked from crawling these sites by default, unless the site owner adjusts the settings otherwise. 

Source: Cloudflare’s new policy pushes AI companies to pay for publishers’ content

US senators revive bill to require AI-generated audio, video and images to carry labels

A bipartisan group of US senators has reintroduced legislation that would require AI-generated audio, video and images to carry disclosures identifying them as artificially generated. The AI Labeling Act of 2026 was introduced on Thursday (June 25) by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), John Curtis (R-UT) and Mark Warner (D-VA). Its backers include SAG-AFTRA, the Songwriters Guild of America, Music Creators North America and the Society of Composers and Lyricists.

Source: US senators revive bill to require AI-generated audio, video and images to carry labels

Viberate opens music data to ChatGPT, Claude and other AI bots via official MCP server launch

AI is changing the way music is created, licensed, and discovered. Viberate thinks it is about to change how the industry uses its data, too. The music data company has a prediction: within a couple of years, it says, more people will use its numbers inside an AI assistant than on Viberate’s own platform. To that end, the analytics company has launched an official MCP server that lets users of AI services tap its data by asking questions in plain language.

Source: Viberate opens music data to ChatGPT, Claude and other AI bots via official MCP server launch

Australian Music Industry Demands Action Against Mass-Scale AI Training

A coalition of Australia’s leading music and creative organizations has united to issue an open letter demanding stronger copyright protections in the face of growing concerns over unauthorized AI training. The coalition includes APRA AMCOS, ARIA, The Copyright Agency, Australian Music Centre, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office, Australian Publishers Association, Screenrights, Screen Producers Australia, AIR, and many more.

Source: Australian Music Industry Demands Action Against Mass-Scale AI Training

Gene Wilder’s Voice Resurrected by AI for Netflix’s Willy Wonka Competition Series

It’s an AI-fueled return to the Chocolate Factory. Netflix has partnered with the AI audio firm ElevenLabs to recreate the voice of actor Gene Wilder, who originated the character’s live-action look in 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and who died in 2016, for its new unscripted reality show “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket.” The AI recreation of Wilder’s voice was done in collaboration with Wilder’s estate, mirroring ElevenLabs’ recreations of contemporaries including Judy Garland and Burt Reynolds.

Source: Gene Wilder’s Voice Resurrected by AI for Netflix’s Willy Wonka Competition Series

A $100 Million Bet on Old Books

The deal boom that took over music may now be coming for books. Primary Wave Music, a music publisher that acquires and markets the catalogs of artists including Stevie Nicks and Prince, has partnered with writer and entrepreneur Richard Hurowitz for a new venture to buy the rights to major authors’ old books. They are betting they can unearth new revenue by presenting past titles for the #BookTok era.

Source: A $100 Million Bet on Old Books

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