Two U.S. senators have requested that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Spotify due to allegations that the company bundled its music streaming and audiobook services into a more expensive subscription without obtaining user consent, while also reducing royalty payments to creators in the process.
Source: Senators urge FTC to investigate Spotify’s higher-priced bundled subscription | TechCrunch
Judge William Alsup just issued his order on summary judgment. It’s a major win for the plaintiffs Bartz, even though the court ruled that the use of copies to train Anthropic’s model were fair use. Significantly, the court also ruled that Anthropic’s acquisition of pirated books from shadow libraries (Books3, LibGen, and Pirate Library Mirror) that Anthropic used to create its own general library at Anthropic was copyright infringement.
Bots harvesting content for AI companies have proliferated to the point that they’re threatening digital collections of arts and culture. Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) say they’re being overwhelmed by AI bots according to a report issued on Tuesday by the GLAM-E Lab. The surge in bots that gather data for AI training, the report says, often went unnoticed until it became so bad that it knocked online collections offline.
Source: Bots are overwhelming websites with their hunger for AI data
The lawsuit marks the first time major studios have sought to enforce their copyrights against an AI company. But the suit takes on one small company — Midjourney has 11 employees — for relatively egregious violations. “It just seems like the lowest hanging fruit and the easiest way to make a point,” says one exec at a rival company. At least for now, it isn’t a full-scale fight against AI.
Source: Why Midjourney Made the Perfect Target for Hollywood’s First AI Lawsuit
The company said AI-made music accounts for just 0.5% of streams on the music streaming platform but its analysis shows that fraudsters are behind up to 70% of those streams. AI-generated music is a growing problem on streaming platforms. Fraudsters typically generate revenue on platforms such as Deezer by using bots to “listen” to AI-generated songs – and take the subsequent royalty payments, which become sizeable once spread across multiple tracks.
Source: Up to 70% of streams of AI-generated music on Deezer are fraudulent, says report
Napster, the brand synonymous with the music piracy boom of the early 2000s, has a new copyright challenge. Together with audio giant Sonos, Napster faces a lawsuit demanding over $3.4 million in alleged unpaid copyright royalties. Filed by SoundExchange, the complaint centers on missed payments related to the “Sonos Radio” service, which until 2023 was powered by Napster’s music catalog.
Source: Napster and Sonos Sued for Millions in Unpaid Music Royalties * TorrentFreak
Trump will issue a third executive order delaying enforcement of the so-called TikTok ban for 90 days, the White House said. Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, ByteDance is required to sell a controlling interest in TikTok to non-Chinese owners or be outlawed. The law does not permit Trump to postpone its enforcement. But he has done so anyway.
Source: Trump Will Delay Enforcing TikTok Ban for a Third Time, White House Says
Music catalog management platform and business engine OpenPlay has announced a new collaboration with Trolley, the end-to-end payouts platform for the internet economy. The partnership will see Trolley integrated into OpenPlay Reach, the recently launched service designed to support royalty management and payout of music and video assets.
Source: OpenPlay & Trolley Partnership to Streamline Royalty Payments
Audiobook listeners and listening hours on Spotify increased by more than 30% and 35%, respectively, from January 2024 to January 2025 in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, helping to boost audio sales of several major publishers, according to the streaming service. The growth aligns with broader industry trends. The Audio Publishers Association recently reported that audiobook sales grew by 13% in 2024, with 99% of revenues generated by digital audiobooks.
Source: New Listeners Boosting Sales for Spotify, Publishers
Funding deals rarely operate the way they’re initially advertised. Factors like cash timing, recoupment rates, and long-term obligations can significantly affect an artist’s cash flow and ownership rights over time. beatBread’s Deal Comparison Tool models these variables across different performance scenarios, simulating annual cash flows and total costs. It helps users identify hidden risks and avoid getting locked into unfavorable terms.
Source: How data-driven tools are changing the way artists and labels finance their businesses