@ArtistRights Newsletter 6/30/25: Spotify’s Royalty Paradox, Scalper Loans, and the AI Copyright Battles Continue

Save the Date! September 18 Artist Rights Roundtable in Washington produced by Artist Rights Institute/American University Kogod Business & Entertainment Program. Details to follow!

The Artist Rights Watch Podcast: S4E10: The AI Moratorium Lives on in Senate Big Beautiful Bill

Music Rights

Can Songwriters Come Together to ‘Strike’ Against Low Royalty Rates? (Analysis) (Billboard/Kristin Robinson)

Spotify’s Paradox: An Algorithm Can Spot Breakout Artists… But Doesn’t Pay Them (MusicTechSolutions/Chris Castle)

AI Litigation

ICYMI: AI-Related Copyright Issues Heat Up at End of June (Copyright Alliance/Keith Kupferschmid)

AI’s Legal Defense Team Looks Familiar — Because It Is (MusicTechSolutions/Chris Castle)

AI Regulation

AI Moratorium Compromise Moves Forward—But Fixes Little (MusicTechPolicy/Chris Castle)

GOP senators reach deal on AI regulation ban (The Hill/Julia Shapero)

“Temporary” Tyranny: Senate is Voting on The 10-Year AI Moratorium That Silences States and Artists(MusicTechPolicy/Chris Castle)

Blackburn/Cruze Compromise on AI Moratorium

Ticketing

Randy Nichols Comment for DOJ/FTC Request for Information Comment ATR‑2025‑0002‑0074

How Scalper Loans and Ticket Financing Drive Up Prices and Shut Out True Fans (MusicTechPolicy/Chris Castle)

Music Licensing

Hey Budweiser, You Give Beer a Bad Name (The Trichordist)

Budweiser boasts of “$0 spent on music rights” in “iconic songs” campaign, wins ad-land’s biggest prize (Complete Music Update/Sam Taylor & Chris Cooke)

Designed to Fail: How DMCA Sludge Protects Platforms and Punishes Creators (MusicTechPolicy/Chris Castle)

Books

The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll by Ian S. Port

Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix by Philip Norman

The China Dream: Great Power Thinking and Strategic Posture in the Post-American Era by Col. Liu Mingfu