Together with
Mario hangs up his cap. Charles Martinet, the original voice of Mario, Luigi, and other iconic characters, is transitioning into a new role with Nintendo after over three decades behind the mustache. As for who’s taking the mic next is anyone’s guess, but don’t be surprised if the company taps AI as his replacement. Who needs 30+ years of experience when you’ve got algorithms, right?
In other news… YouTube launches a music incubator with UMG, Vegas goes all-in on F1, and AI-generated art has no rights.
Top Trends
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MUSIC
Generative Sinatra // Illustration by Kate Walker
Universal Music Group experiments with AI royalties
The Future. Universal Music Group is hoping to generate an additional revenue stream for its artists with a new YouTube partnership on AI, dubbed the “YouTube’s Music AI Incubator.” With the ability to craft tools that respect artists’ rights, generative AI may soon represent a financial windfall instead of an existential threat. Considering UMG and YouTube are the biggest firms in their fields, the pact could set a precedent for the rest of the industry.
Bot bops
A small cadre of UMG artists, including Yo Gotti, Ryan Tedder, and the Frank Sinatra estate, are working with YouTube on a framework for developing creative protections and a royalty system around generative AI.
The partnership is based on three principles: mutual collaboration between artists and YouTube for “responsible innovation,” copyright protection as a north star, and a focus on trust and safety to prevent misuse of tools.
Artists who are a part of the YouTube program will also get early access to AI tools and be able to provide feedback on them.
UMG CEO Lucian Grainge said the partnership is “about having the option to design how their music is actually used. Artists have never had that before, to this extent, leaning into a new technology.” Considering how streaming upended the music business, it’s possible UMG doesn’t want to find itself in that position with another transformative tech.
All this comes on the heels of UMG’s takedown request earlier this year of a song that deepfaked the vocals of clients Drake and The Weeknd. At the time, UMG said tech companies have a “legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists.”
YouTube apparently took that to heart.
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SPORTS
Courtesy of Las Vegas Grand Prix
Las Vegas bets on Formula One
The Future. Sin City is deep in construction on turning the Strip into the raceway for the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. The event is meant to solidify Vegas as the American home for F1… which may inadvertently make the city a fashion and entertainment capital.
Roll the track
Liberty Media’s $560 million remodel of the Vegas Strip into the fanciest F1 track in the US is hitting fifth gear.
The hyped race, scheduled for November 16th to 18th, will take place on a 3.8-mile loop that runs through the famed resort corridor, affecting 23,000 rooms.
The revamp includes removing medians and shaving five to ten inches of the road so it can be replaced with a dense, super smooth racing layer (which should last six years).
To help with pedestrian foot traffic, temporary bridges have been constructed to help crisscross over the construction.
The centerpiece of the race is the in-construction Paddock Building — extending the length of three football fields, it will act as the racer garages, a VIP club, and a main grandstand.
While all the work has led to complaints of gridlock in a town known for quick commutes, the whole hospitality industry is on board — opening up high-priced suites and luxury clubs along the track, along with numerous A-list entertainment events for the anticipated 105,000 daily attendees.
According to financial consultancy Applied Analysis, November’s event could inject $1.2 billion into the local economy… and that’s just for the first year in a ten-year deal.
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Social progress
Want to create bangin’ content, but you’re so busy all you can eat for lunch is a desk salad?
Meet YouAi. They just launched a full AI Creator Suite that’ll help you brainstorm, generate, and optimize content while you do all the stuff you already do. And guess what? The content it makes works on any platform.
So, if you want to write Don Draper-esque headlines and make your stories pop it like it’s hot, get YouAi on your roster.
Oh, and if you want to be all business-y about it, you can also optimize your creations and analyze the results to ensure your content actually works. Because, well, it should.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Humans only // Illustration by Kate Walker
Judge rules AI art isn’t copyrightable
The Future. Backing up the US Copyright Office, a judge has ruled copyright doesn’t protect works created solely by AI systems. That’s good news for artists trying to protect their livelihoods from the emerging tech… but it could also be another tool in the various lawsuits against AI companies for training their LLMs on copyrighted material.
Passing on protections
US District Judge Beryl Howell has ruled, in no uncertain terms, copyright is for humans… and humans only.
Judge Howell upheld the US Copyright Office’s ruling that an artwork created by Stephen Thaler’s Imagination Engines AI system wasn’t eligible for copyright because “the nexus between the human mind and creative expression” is necessary.
According to Howell, “human authorship is a bedrock requirement” to receive copyright because copyright law was designed to encourage and protect human creation.
That belief extends to the work created using any form of technology or media — the human intent channeled through those tools is what ultimately matters.
That ruling aligns with the Copyright Office’s allowance to grant copyright protection to works created with the assistance of AI. In that case, AI is just another tool to realize a human’s vision.
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Do some summer soul-searching in therapy
As summer begins to end 😞, put yourself first by trying professional therapy online!
BetterHelp can match you to one of over 32,000 licensed therapists so you can do therapy on your schedule. No more getting on waitlists or driving to and from appointments!
Just fill in a brief questionnaire to get matched with a credentialed therapist and switch at any time with no additional charge.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Oliver Anthony’s controversial hit, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” has topped the charts on Spotify, Apple, iTunes, and Billboard. Read more → deadline
Apple Podcasts is rolling out new analytics tools for creators, giving them a better sense of who’s paying to listen to their podcasts. Read more → theverge
The MLB’s image overhaul, rule changes, and teen outreach have been successful in attracting younger fans. Read more → fastcompany
Fashion & E-Commerce
Ghost, a B2B marketplace for retailers to easily move surplus merchandise, has raised a $30 million Series B round led by Cathay Innovation after its membership base grew to over 1,000 brands. Read more → techcrunch
Walmart’s delivery platform, Spark, has multiplied its workforce… partly because drivers have signed up using multiple names. Read more → insider
The Watch Register reports there’s been a 60% increase in luxury watch thefts, with a black market for Rolexes, Audemars Piguets, and Patek Philippes booming. Read more → bof
Tech, Web3, & AI
Music tech firm Music: Not Impossible has created a haptic suit that turns individual notes into vibrations, giving deaf fans a new, immersive way of enjoying concerts and other live events. Read more → nyt
Companies are quickly overhauling their terms of service for user data to be used or banned from being used to train AI systems. Read more → axios
Investment bank Piper Sandler found 87% of teens use iPhones and plan on sticking with Apple for future smartphones — a uniquely American phenomenon. Read more → wsj
Creator Economy
X has been experiencing some glitches showing media on its platform that was uploaded before December 2014. Read more → theverge
Speaking of things not working on X, Elon Musk said his ambitions for the platform “may fail.” Read more → insider
Drew Desbordes, known by his viral online persona Druski, has launched the sports agency 4Lifers, which plans to help athletes land NIL deals with big brands. Read more → tubefilter
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.