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
The partnership with the ISNI International Agency (ISNI-IA) makes UMG an ‘ISNI registration agency,’ marking “the first of its kind for a major label,” ISNI-IA said Monday. An ISNI functions as a ‘digital passport’ for every contributor involved in the making of a piece of music, such as producers, writers, and other creative people. The system provides each creator with a specific identifier that enhances their visibility online.
Source: Universal Music adopts ISNI system, assigning ID numbers to songwriters and artists
Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer, and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kynclhave thrown their weight behind a Daily Mail campaign urging the government to protect creators’ rights. “The UK stands at a decisive crossroads because what is ‘Made in Britain’ and exported to the world is not limited to physical products, but also intellectual property and copyright including music, visual art, life sciences and more,” said Grainge.
Source: Major record company bosses back campaign against UK AI copyright proposal
The global generative artificial intelligence (AI) in music market reached a value of nearly $419.85 million in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53.34% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $419.85 million in 2024 to $4.3 billion in 2029 at a rate of 59.25%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 39.32% from 2029 and reach $22.57 billion in 2034.
Top executives from Meta Platforms and Alphabet have amped up the heat on the European Union (EU) over its perceived failure to foster innovation in artificial intelligence. In particular, the EU’s AI Act, which tightly controls the type and nature of AI systems allowed in the bloc, was seen as going “too far” by META director of public policy Chris Yiu. “The net result of all of that is that products get delayed or get watered down and European citizens and consumers suffer.”
Hanno Basse discussed his company’s work and the evolution of generative AI in filmmaking during this week’s HPA Tech Retreat, saying, “The ultimate goal is to make more movies.” Basse weighed in on subjects such as data provenance and budgets, and spoke about progress being made in filmmaking, predicting that in “probably two years, we’re going to have very high performing open source foundation models.”
The European Commission will propose at least five sets of legislation this year to spur investment and simplify regulation on companies, including in the field of artificial intelligence, the European Union’s digital chief said on Thursday. The executive Commission is under pressure from EU member countries such as France to ease regulations, and also faces challenges from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.Source: Europe set to simplify corporate regulation, EU’s digital chief says
The EU is withdrawing proposed regulations for handling victim’s claims of harm caused by AI — but it faces internal opposition. The commission’s change of heart was blasted by Axel Voss, a German member of the European Parliament. “Why the sudden U-turn? The answer likely lies in pressure from industry lobbyists who view any liability rules as an existential threat to their business models,” Voss told the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Source: AI Regulations: EU Withdraws AI Liability Proposal; US Seeks Comments on AI Action Plan | PYMNTS.com