@ArtistRights Institute Newsletter 5/5/25

May 5

The Artist Rights Watch podcast returns for another season! This week's episode features Chris Castle on An Artist's Guide to Record Releases Part 2. Download it here or subscribe wherever you get your audio podcasts.

New Survey for Songwriters: We are surveying songwriters about whether they want to form a certified union. Please fill out our short Survey Monkey confidential survey here! Thanks!

Texas Scalpers Bill of Rights Legislation

Can this Texas House bill help curb high ticket prices? Depends whom you ask (Marcheta Fornoff/KERA News)

Texas lawmakers target ticket fees and resale restrictions in new legislative push (Abigail Velez/CBS Austin)

@ArtistRights Institute opposes Texas Ticketing Legislation the "Scalpers' Bill of Rights" (Chris Castle/Artist Rights Watch)

Ticket reselling is a billion dollar business fueled by a frustrating reality for music fans - scalpers keep ending up with many of the best tickets. pic.twitter.com/MKCip4Yydx
— CBS Saturday Morning (@cbssaturday) April 5, 2025

Streaming

Spotify’s Earnings Points To A “Catch Up” On Songwriter Royalties At Crb For Royalty Justice (Chris Castle/MusicTechPolicy)

Streaming Is Now Just As Crowded With Ads As Old School TV (Rick Porter/Hollywood Reporter)

Spotify Stock Falls On Music Streamer's Mixed Q1 Report (Patrick Seitz/Investors Business Daily)

Economy

The Slowdown at Ports Is a Warning of Rough Economic Seas Ahead (Aarian Marshall/Wired)

What To Expect From Wednesday's Federal Reserve Meeting (Diccon Hyatt/Investopedia)

Spotify Q1 2025 Earnings Call: Daniel Ek Talks Growth, Pricing, Superfan Products, And A Future Where The Platform Could Reach 1bn Subscribers (Murray Stassen/Music Business Worldwide)

Artist Rights and AI

SAG-AFTRA National Board Approves Commercials Contracts That Prevent AI, Digital Replicas Without Consent (JD Knapp/The Wrap)

Generative AI providers see first steps for EU code of practice on content labels (Luca Bertuzzi/Mlex)

A Judge Says Meta’s AI Copyright Case Is About ‘the Next Taylor Swift’ (Kate Knibbs/Wired)