Hangout is a new service that wants to make enjoying music more of a social experience. The platform, from Turntable Labs, is available on iOS, Android and the Web. At launch, Hangout offers more than 100 million songs, available to stream globally as a result of deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group as well as indie rights group Merlin. Users can select an avatar and invite friends to their personal ‘hangout’ space, taking turns playing songs from their favorite artists in the virtual DJ booth. Continue reading Hangout Is a New Social Platform with Music Listening Rooms

SAG-AFTRA announced it is teaming with online talent marketplace Narrativ to provide the guild’s 160,000 members with the option of working with the New York-based AI startup to license their voice replicas for use in digital audio advertising. The deal would make it easy for voice actors to be considered for replicant work and get compensated, according to SAG-AFTRA, which emphasizes that performers will control the particulars, including whether to make their voices available, brand approval and fees. Narrativ also represents visual likenesses, but the SAG-AFTRA announcement is limited to voice work. Continue reading SAG-AFTRA Strikes a Deal with Narrativ for AI Voice Replicas

The Senate has introduced the NO FAKES Act (Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe) to protect artists — their voices and visual likenesses — from the proliferation of deepfakes and digital replicas created without consent. The bipartisan bill seeks to impose liability for damages to those who violate the proposed new law. If passed, the NO FAKES Act would be the first federal protection from AI image appropriation, supporters say. Those who’ve rallied to the cause include SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association, Disney and major talent agencies. Continue reading Senate Introduces NO FAKES Act to Address Deepfakes and AI

A group that includes the world’s three largest music labels — Sony, Universal and Warner — are backing federal lawsuits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America against AI companies Suno and Udio. Claiming “mass infringement,” the suits allege the startups scraped libraries of copyrighted songs to train models that power generative audio products allowing consumers to create music using text prompts. Suno is based in Massachusetts while Udio and its parent Uncharted are headquartered in New York, with the actions filed earlier this week in their respective states. Continue reading Recording Industry Sues AI Startups Citing Mass Infringement

Twitch is rolling out its licensed DJ Program to allow music live streamers to pursue their craft without having to deal with takedown notices. The popular gaming platform, owned by Amazon, has been dealing with copyright infringement complaints, and now offers what it calls a “first-of-its-kind” compliance solution that provides creators who opt-in with “millions of tracks” that will be legally safe to use. Participating DJs will be required to pay copyright holders a percentage of their earnings from the stream in which the music is used. Twitch did not disclose the percentage but said it would split the cost 50/50 with creators. Continue reading Twitch DJ Program Forges New Path for Live Streaming Music

Alphabet is developing an AI tool that would let creators generate music in the voice of famous recording artists. Lyor Cohen, global head of music for Google and its YouTube subsidiary, has reportedly been in discussions with music labels for several months about obtaining the rights to use songs by major artists to train an AI model in this manner. The discussions continue, but not without raising concerns in the music business. Meanwhile, other AI tools are already generating new content, but not without facing some resistance. The use of artificial intelligence to generate creative works in the style of others is being hashed out in the courts. Continue reading Music Industry Considers Impact of AI as New Tools Emerge

Roku TV and the Roku player are getting new features including better search and discovery to complement its more than 400 free live linear TV channels. The upgrades will begin rolling out with the introduction of Roku OS 12.5 in the coming weeks. Highlights include the ability to follow a favorite sports team, new music channels and the ability to link Roku’s Photo Streams image-based screensaver to a Google Photos account, so personal pictures can be displayed between viewing events. The changes are across a wide range of features targeting sports enthusiasts and others, including technical purists and casual viewers who need help finding entertainment options. Continue reading Roku Adds New Search, Sports, Music Features with OS 12.5

TikTok is branching out from short-form video with a new music streaming service poised to challenge Spotify and Apple Music. Called TikTok Music, the subscription-only platform has debuted in Brazil and Indonesia. Users can sync existing TikTok accounts to share songs, as well as listen and download tunes, including titles from the Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group catalogs. TikTok Music replaces ByteDance’s previously launched music platform Resso, which on September 5 will cease operations in Brazil and Indonesia. The new offering is priced the same: between $3 and $3.50 monthly for Android and iOS. Continue reading TikTok Music Streaming Service Bows in Brazil and Indonesia

For the first time, Apple is raising U.S. prices for Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscription services. Starting this week, both new and existing customers will pay rates starting at $6.99 per month for Apple TV+ and $10.99 per month for Apple Music, a 40 percent and 10 percent increase, respectively. The family music plan, for up to six accounts, increases to $16.99 per month (from $14.99). Cost of the Apple One bundle — which includes TV, Music, Apple Arcade and iCloud+ storage — also rises as competing streamers raise prices while vying more aggressively for market share. Continue reading Apple Increases Prices of Its Streaming Services for First Time

YouTube is beta testing Creator Music, a large catalog of songs creators can browse and purchase for use with their original longform content. YouTube announced the service at its Made on YouTube live event the same week its chief business officer Robert Kyncl was revealed as the incoming CEO of Warner Music Group, effective January 2023. “Creator Music is a new destination in YouTube Studio that gives YouTube creators easy access to an ever-growing catalog of music for use in their long-form videos,” YouTube said, explaining the service offers “affordable, high-quality music licenses.” YouTube also announced that Shorts creators can soon share ad revenue through the platform’s Partner Program. Continue reading YouTube Tests Creator Music, Adds Shorts Partner Program

After a 12-year run that saw YouTube emerge as the dominant U.S. social video platform, chief business officer Robert Kyncl announced he is stepping aside. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that Google president of global customer solutions Mary Ellen Coe will assume the role of CBO, effective October 3, with Kyncl continuing as part of YouTube’s executive team until early 2023 during the transition. Known as YouTube’s Hollywood connection, Kyncl was ultimately unable to transition YouTube into the long-form streaming platform Google once envisioned, but he oversaw its rise to short-form video powerhouse. Continue reading YouTube CBO Robert Kyncl Exiting, Mary Ellen Coe Steps Up

Warner Music Group has become the first major music label to adopt SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties payout model. Launched last year, the model is designed around what the music streaming service calls “the fan economy,” enabling artists to engage directly with fans for more control and increased monetization opportunities. The audio distribution platform allows every artist to be paid “based on fan listening behavior on SoundCloud,” with subscription and advertising revenue “distributed among the artists [the fans] listen to, rather than being pooled under the traditional pro-rata model the music industry has been using for over a decade,” explains SoundCloud. Continue reading Warner Music Adopts SoundCloud’s Fan-Powered Royalties

Los Angeles-based avatar technology firm Genies Inc. has secured Bob Iger as an investor and board member, a coup for the five-year-old startup, which crafts celebrity avatars and also allows people to create their own avatars, fashion, worlds and experiences. The move into the metaverse is Iger’s first entertainment play since exiting Disney in December after 15 years as CEO. Genies says Iger will help “navigate its mission to empower humans to create their own avatar ecosystems” in Web3 — including avatars, fashion lines, immersive experiences and virtual worlds.  Continue reading Bob Iger’s Act 2: Into the Metaverse with Avatar Firm Genies

Investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase is betting on the metaverse, which it predicts “will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.” The company has opened a virtual branch in Decentraland, a browser-based 3D world to coincide with publication of the 18-page “Opportunities in the Metaverse” report by Onyx, the blockchain division the bank launched in 2020. Although it’s the first bank known to open a branch in the metaverse, JPMorgan is just the latest of numerous businesses to plant its flag. Continue reading JPMorgan Pegs Metaverse at $1 Trillion, Opens Virtual Bank

Amazon’s game-centric streaming platform Twitch has been going all-in on music. This week it made a deal this week with digital licensing agency Merlin to unlock live experiences worldwide and create revenue earning opportunities for the indie’s global membership. The agreement comes on the heels of last week’s expansion pact with Universal Music Group and a pact with Warner Music Group in Q4, when Twitch launched The Collective artist incubator for musicians. The Merlin deal offers members “an on-ramp to our devoted and engaged Twitch community,” said Twitch vice president and head of music Tracy Chan. Continue reading Twitch Continues Its Push into Music, Adds Merlin as Partner