Tracy Maddux, former Chief Commercial Officer at Downtown Music Holdings, has led a “multi-million dollar” strategic investment in rights management platform OpenPlay, giving him a board seat. As board member, Maddux brings experience in music technology to OpenPlay, which serves more than 3,500 labels, distributors and publishers across 24 countries.
Google is a ‘bad actor’ says People CEO, accusing the company of stealing content
Neil Vogel, CEO of People, Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith), a publisher that operates over 40 brands, including People, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Southern Living, Allrecipes, and others, said that Google is not playing fair because it uses the same bot to crawl websites to index them for the Google search engine as it does to support its AI features.
Source: Google is a ‘bad actor’ says People CEO, accusing the company of stealing content | TechCrunch
Nearly a third of all tracks uploaded to Deezer are now fully AI-generated, says platform
Fully AI-generated music now constitutes 28% of all tracks delivered to Deezer each day, according to new data from the French streaming service. Deezer says it now receives over 30,000fully AI-generated tracks daily, marking a sharp increase from the 20,000 figure it reported in April and the 10,000 it disclosed in January when it first launched its proprietary AI detection tool.
Source: Nearly a third of all tracks uploaded to Deezer are now fully AI-generated, says platform
Reddit launches tools for publisher to track and share stories
Reddit on Wednesday launched a set of free tools for publishers to track their article performance and receive suggestions on where to share their stories within the site’s communities. The new features are launching as a part of Reddit Pro, a suite of business tools it debuted last year to help organizations grow their presence on the platform. T
Source: Reddit launches tools for publisher to track and share stories | TechCrunch
Stability AI’s enterprise audio model cuts production time from weeks to minutes
Stability AI today launched Stable Audio 2.5, which the company claims to be the first audio generation model purpose-built for enterprise use. The model addresses a critical gap in enterprise AI adoption. Audio influences brand engagement, yet most companies lack the infrastructure to produce custom, on-brand audio at scale. They need audio across multiple touchpoints from advertisements to in-store experiences.
Source: Stability AI’s enterprise audio model cuts production time from weeks to minutes
Trump’s Man With a Plan in Hollywood Opens Up
Producer and manager Steven Paul says the president “loves” the entertainment business. Enough to push Congress for a federal incentive? Maybe. As Jon Voight’s longtime manager and business partner, Paul, perhaps best known as one of the minds behind the 1999 comedy Baby Geniuses, has become an unlikely go-between for Hollywood and the White House.
ISPs Rally in Cox Communications v. Sony Supreme Court Battle
Multiple internet providers and related organizations are weighing in on the high-stakes Cox Communications v. Sony Supreme Court battle. Grande Communications and Altice USA just recently submitted briefs of their own, joining the U.S. government, all manner of tech giants, Twitter/X, the ACLU, the EFF, and a variety of others. It probably doesn’t need saying in light of this list or the forum, but there’s quite a lot riding on the decision for the involved parties.
Source: ISPs Rally in Cox Communications v. Sony Supreme Court Battle
The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that
Grammy Award-winning musician, composer, and producer Wyclef Jean says the music industry is broken, which is why he’s now involved with a startup, OpenWav, that’s looking to give the power back to the artists. Through the OpenWav app, launched over the summer, artists can drop new music and exclusives; connect directly with fans; sell merch; host concerts, pop-ups, and listening parties; and more.
Source: The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that | TechCrunch
Paramount Plans Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
David Ellison, the media mogul who took over Paramount just last month, has already set his sights on another blockbuster deal: He wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Mr. Ellison is planning a bid for the company, which owns HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. movie studio, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.
Rolling Stone owner Penske Media sues Google over AI summaries
Google faces a new lawsuit accusing the company of illegally using news publishers’ content to create AI summaries that damage their business. The lawsuit comes from Penske Media Corporation (PMC), which owns industry publications such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Vibe, and Artforum.
Source: Rolling Stone owner Penske Media sues Google over AI summaries | TechCrunch