“Streamflation” Is Real: U.S. Data Shows Soaring Price of Streaming Video Services

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday released its December Consumer Price Index, showing modest inflation of 0.3 percent on a monthly basis and 2.7 percent for the year. But a deeper dive into the data tables also shows an outlier that is relevant to Hollywood: Subscription video services. According to the BLS data, “Subscription and rental of video and video games” saw inflation of 19.5 percent in December.

Source: “Streamflation” Is Real: U.S. Inflation Data Shows Soaring Price of Streaming Video Services

X could ‘lose right to self regulate’, says Starmer

The UK will bring into force a law which will make it illegal to create non-consensual intimate images, following widespread concerns over Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot. Speaking to Labour MPs on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer warned X could lose the “right to self regulate”. “If X cannot control Grok, we will,” he said, adding the government would act quickly in response to the issue.

Source: X could ‘lose right to self regulate’, says Starmer

Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025

Google search traffic was down globally by a third in the year to November, according to new Chartbeat data. In addition, referrals to more than 2,500 publisher websites from Google Discover, a feed served to users on Google’s native mobile apps and within its Android operating system, were down 21% year on year. Since May 2023, Google search referrals were down 21% globally, with Google Discover down 18% and all external referrals down 24%.

Source: Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025

As Spotify lowers monetization threshold for podcasters, should it increase payout barrier for music artists?

One music industry strategist thinks so, arguing in a provocative new essay that the streaming giant should implement a 250,000 monthly listener threshold to concentrate payments among professional musicians who can earn a sustainable living. The proposal comes as Spotify moves in the opposite direction for podcasters, slashing its Partner Program eligibility requirements by half.

Source: As Spotify lowers monetization threshold for podcasters, should it increase payout barrier for music artists?

SAG-AFTRA’s Likely Strategy: Make AI Performers as Expensive as Humans

The national executive director and chief negotiator of the actors union SAG-AFTRA enumerated on his dollars-and-cents approach to what the labor group calls “synthetic performers” in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show on Thursday. His remarks previewed the tack that the union may take when its negotiations with studios and streamers begin on Feb. 9, where AI is again expected to be a top issue.

Source: SAG-AFTRA’s Likely Strategy: Make AI Performers as Expensive as Humans

French Court Orders Google to Block Pirate Sites, Dismisses ‘Cloudflare-First’ Defense 

The Paris Judicial Court has ordered Google to block nineteen additional pirate site domains through its public DNS resolver. The blockade was requested by Canal+ and aims to stop pirate streams of Champions League games. In its defense, Google argued that rightsholders should target intermediaries higher up the chain first, such as Cloudflare’s CDN, but the court rejected that.

Source: French Court Orders Google DNS to Block Pirate Sites, Dismisses ‘Cloudflare-First’ Defense * TorrentFreak

X Sues Music Publishers Over “Weaponized” DMCA Takedown Conspiracy 

Elon Musk’s X Corp. filed a landmark antitrust complaint against the NMPA, Sony, Universal, and other major music publishers, claiming that they used a coordinated “extortionate campaign” to force licensing deals. The lawsuit alleges that a flood of “baseless” DMCA notices targeted over 200,000 posts and suspended 50,000 users, allegedly to coerce X to sign industry-wide agreements.

Source: X Sues Music Publishers Over “Weaponized” DMCA Takedown Conspiracy * TorrentFreak

11th Cir.: YouTube not required to run Content ID to preserve DMCA safe harbor

YouTube was entitled to seek protection from the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act even though it had, but did not deploy, technology capable of identifying matches between videos identified in takedown requests and videos with similar content elsewhere on its service, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held.

Source: 11th Cir.: YouTube not required to run Content ID to preserve DMCA safe harbor

Anthropic reportedly raising $10B at $350B valuation

Anthropic is gearing up to raise a fresh $10 billion at a $350 billion valuation, according to The Wall Street Journal. TechCrunch has confirmed the raise and valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Claude maker last raised a $13 billion Series F round at a $183 billion valuation three months ago, so this raise nearly doubles the AI firm’s value. In March, Anthropic secured $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion valuation.

Source: Anthropic reportedly raising $10B at $350B valuation | TechCrunch

‘This isn’t about limiting fan creativity. It’s about ensuring creators and rights-holders are paid.’

If trained professionals can’t reliably detect AI, everyday listeners won’t either. The behaviour is stable and repeatable. Millions search for and share AI covers and remixes daily. That consistency is the basis of every revenue line the industry has ever built. What’s missing is licensed infrastructure. The biggest short-term commercial opportunity is AI cover versions and remixes.

Source: ‘This isn’t about limiting fan creativity. It’s about ensuring creators, performers and rights-holders are paid.’

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