Court Says No Copyright Registration for Works Created by Generative AI

On Friday, Judge Beryl Howell issued an opinion in Dr. Stephen Thaler’s challenge against the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) over the denial of his application for a work generated entirely using generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The opinion supports the USCO’s refusal to register a work in which the claimant disclosed in the application that the image was the result of an AI system, called The Creativity Machine.

Source: Court Says No Copyright Registration for Works Created by Generative AI

OpenSea Will Make Creator Royalties Optional for NFT Trades 

In its latest pivot on the subject, marketplace OpenSea announced Thursday that it will soon stop enforcing creator royalty fees on secondary sales of NFTs—a development that will impact artists and teams who receive passive income when their work trades hands following the initial sale. Artists will now only be able to indicate their preferred creator fee, which buyers can choose to pay effectively as a tip.

Source: OpenSea Will Make Creator Royalties Optional for NFT Trades – Decrypt

Music royalties marketplace MasterExchange sells out its first ‘initial music offering’

Shortly after attracting $2.7 million in funding, MasterExchange, a marketplace for investing in music royalties, announced that it has sold out its first so-called initial music offering (IMO). MasterExchange provides a marketplace to invest in music by purchasing royalty shares. The platform’s debut ‘IMO’ centered around the track Sofia by Alvaro Soler, co-produced by T.I Jakke.

Source: After raising $2.7m, music royalties marketplace MasterExchange sells out its first ‘initial music offering’

TikTok’s Warner deal shows it’s on course to become the MTV of the 21st Century

The deal announced last month between TikTok and Warner Music Group (WMG) is arguably the clearest sign yet that the social media platform – which has built a base of 1 billion monthly active users in its seven years of existence – is maturing into a serious part of music’s cultural and business landscape.

Source: TikTok’s Warner deal shows it’s on course to become the MTV of the 21st Century – but to do so, it needs better relations with the entire music biz

Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

Under the pro-rata streaming model, where scale is the only thing that matters, labels are incentivised to grow their market share by any means possible. The reality is that labels can see more upside by signing a viral hit to a singles deal, than spending years developing an artist who may or may not be successful.

Source: Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

WGA Report: Disney, Amazon, and Netflix Are the ‘New Gatekeepers’ of Media

The Writers Guild of America issued a report on Thursday calling Netflix, Amazon and Disney the “new gatekeepers” of the media business, and calling for antitrust regulators to prevent consolidation in the streaming marketplace. The report argues that Netflix, Amazon and Disney have amassed collective market power that has driven down wages and limited viewer choice.

Source: WGA Report: Disney, Amazon, and Netflix Are the ‘New Gatekeepers’ of Media

Spotify’s Algorithm Favored ‘White Noise’ Podcasts

A new report suggests that white noise podcast creation has exploded so much that Spotify has considered banning the content. White noise and ambient podcasts accounted for three million daily consumption hours as of January, according to one leaked document — all boosted by Spotify’s push for what it considers ‘talk’ content vs. music. Essentially, ‘talk content’ with no words has been raking in millions of listens.

Source: Spotify’s Algorithm Favored ‘White Noise’ Podcasts

Songwriters & Publishers Have a $250M Payday Coming After Streaming Royalty Determination

While various industry estimates are all over the place with some even reaching another $400 million, by Billboard estimates, the just announced determined rates — finalized eight months after the 2017-2022 term expired — could yield up to another $250 million in underpaid mechanical royalties flowing from digital services to publishers and songwriters.

Source: Songwriters & Publishers Have a $250M Payday Coming After Streaming Royalty Determination

The New York Times says you can’t use its content to train AI models

The New York Times updated its Terms of Service on August 3rd to prohibit its content — inclusive of text, photographs, images, audio/video clips, “look and feel,” metadata, or compilations — from being used in the development of “any software program, including, but not limited to, training a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system.”

Source: The New York Times says you can’t use its content to train AI models

SoundExchange sues SiriusXM over alleged $150m in unpaid royalties 

SoundExchange says that it estimates that SiriusXM has “wrongfully withheld more than $150 million in unpaid royalties over the past several years.” In a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday (August 16), SoundExchange alleged that SiriusXM “has exploited the creative efforts of recording artists without paying legally mandated compensation.”

Source: SoundExchange sues SiriusXM over alleged $150m in unpaid royalties owed to artists and rightsholders

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