featured

Meta to start training its AI models on public content in the EU

Meta announced on Monday that it’s going to train its AI models on public content, such as posts and comments on Facebook and Instagram, in the EU after previously pausing its plans to do so in response to regulatory pressure due to to data privacy concerns. The company will start training its AI on users’ content in the EU this week, it said. Users’ interactions with Meta AI will also be used to train its models.

Source: Meta to start training its AI models on public content in the EU | TechCrunch

Spotify and Universal Unveil New Deal That Improves ‘Bundling’ Payment Structure  

Spotify and Universal announced a new deal that sources say improves the payment structure for the streamer’s controversial music-audiobooks ‘bundle.’ A Spotify rep said in a separate statement, “Spotify maintains its bundle, but with this direct deal [with UMPG], it has evolved to account for broader rights, including a different economic treatment for music and non-music content.”

Source: Spotify and Universal Unveil Far-Reaching Deal That Improves ‘Bundling’ Payment Structure  

The Shutterstock-Getty Images Merger: A Bold Move in a Shifting Landscape 

The stock photo industry has been gasping for air, struggling to adapt to a market that continues to be extremely challenging. Over the past two decades, licensing prices for rights-managed (RM) images have plummeted by 20–50%, while royalty-free (RF) prices have dropped even more sharply, by 50–80%. The rise of microstock and subscription models has driven licensing fees as low as $0.27 per image.

Source: The Shutterstock-Getty Images Merger: A Bold Move in a Shifting Landscape – Kaptur

Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs AI Bills Backed by SAG-AFTRA

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited SAG-AFTRA headquarters on Monday to sign two bills regulating the use of performances generated by artificial intelligence. The actors’ union lobbied for passage of the legislation, which builds on the protections won during the four-month actors’ strike against the major studios last year.

Source: Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs AI Bills Backed by SAG-AFTRA

DOJ antitrust chief warns AI companies that they must fairly compensate artists

The Justice Department’s chief antitrust enforcer issued a warning Thursday to tech companies working in artificial intelligence, cautioning that they could face action from regulators if they don’t find a way to fairly compensate artists, entertainers and other creators.

Source: DOJ antitrust chief warns AI companies that they must fairly compensate artists

Reddit in AI content licensing deal is with Google

Social media platform Reddit has struck a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search engine giant’s artificial intelligence models, three people familiar with the matter said. The contract with Alphabet-owned Google is worth about $60 million per year, according to one of the sources. Bloomberg previously reported Reddit’s content deal without naming the buyer.

Source: Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google

Hipgnosis Completes 20,000-Song Selloff — At a Steep Discount

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has completed a 20,000-song selloff, but the involved price tag represents a steep discount to the works’ valuation. In an announcement to the market on Monday (December 11), HSF said that “these non-core songs, which are a subset of those identified as the Second Disposal as set out in September, were bundled with the iconic Songs acquired by the Company in 2020 as part of Kobalt Fund One“.

Source: Hipgnosis Completes 20,000-Song Selloff — At a Steep Discount

As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

Experts question why studios aren’t siding more with actors and writers and against AI companies to oppose what could constitute the mass pilfering of their closely guarded intellectual property. “Studios should be protecting their copyrights,” a WGA member tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s shortsighted, because it demotes them to another source of content for these AI firms.”

Source: As AI Battle Lines Are Drawn, Studios Align With Big Tech in a Risky Bet

Spotify changing how it pays artists starting in 2024

Spotify is planning to make significant changes to its royalty payout model in Q1 2024 – with the intent to move USD $1 billion in royalty payments over the next five years to ‘legitimate’ artists and rightsholders. Spotify has been discussing details of its blueprint for the new royalty model with various music rightsholders in recent weeks.

Source: Spotify is changing its royalty model to crush streaming fraud and introduce a minimum payment threshold. Its plan? To shift $1 billion in payouts towards ‘working artists’ over the next 5 years.

Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone: MIDiA

A brutal assessment of streaming would be that no one is happy. Every stakeholder, except perhaps, the consumer, has a beef with how streaming operates. All of which means that any fixes (at least those that will succeed) will need to deliver some form of benefit to all stakeholders, big and small. And that means tackling the underlying behavioral dynamics of streaming, from which today’s royalty issues come.

Source: Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone

Get the latest RightsTech news and analysis delivered directly in your inbox every week
We respect your privacy.
Get the latest RightsTech news and analysis delivered directly in your inbox every week
We respect your privacy.