@ArtistRights Newsletter: AI Moratorium is Back, TX Ticketing Bill is Dead, State AI Legislation Advances, AI Opt Out Violates Berne
This week in Artist Rights Weekly:
The AI Moratorium fight intensifies, with state AG opposition and legal challenges mounting. The Artist Rights Institute updates you on key ticketing legislation in Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina, explore EU copyright battles over opt-out formalities, and bring you the latest on US state AI regulation trends.
Plus: A new survey for songwriters about forming a certified union — please participate!
Featured Action: Songwriters Union Survey
We are surveying songwriters about whether they want to form a certified union.
👉 Please fill out our short Survey Monkey confidential survey here! Thanks!
Featured AI Article
📄 Bringing transparency to the data used to train artificial intelligence (Beth Stackpole/MIT Sloan)
A team of multidisciplinary researchers, including professor Sandy Pentland and others from MIT, created the Data Provenance Initiative to tackle the data transparency challenge head-on.
AI Moratorium Shenanigans
Our latest The Artist Rights Watch podcast on the AI moratorium that just won't die!
🎙️ S4E8 — The Hidden AI Power Grab Inside Trump’s OBBBA Bill (Artist Rights Watch Podcast)
Constitutional Challenges to AI Moratorium (Chris Castle/MusicTech.Solutions)
GOP lawmakers want to stop Alabama and other states from regulating AI. What you need to know (Associated Press)
40 State Attorneys General Oppose AI Moratorium
Senate Republicans Revise Ban on State AI Regulations in Bid to Preserve Controversial Provision (Associated Press)
📄 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) — Full Text (Congress.gov)
📄 Byrd Rule — Senate Glossary Summary
Tickets
Texas:
Texas ticketing bill SB 1820 is dead after Texas Legislature adjourned until 2027 on June 2.
Louisiana:
Louisiana SB 188 (2025) has not been voted on by either body.
Key features:
Requires original ticket prices to be printed.
Caps resale prices at face value + fees + taxes.
Bans speculative ticket sales (tickets not owned).
Mandates full refunds for canceled events or failed delivery.
Limits secondary platform fees to 10%.
Strong consumer protection focus.
North Carolina:
North Carolina HB 598, based on a failed ALEC model bill, is still in committee.
Key provisions:
Bans use of deceptive URLs on resale platforms
Mandates “all-in” pricing.
Prohibits ticket issuers from restricting resale.
Bars price floors/ceilings or resale penalties.
Requires delivery of electronic tickets within 72 hours.
EU Opt Out
The Great Flip: Is Opt Out A Prohibited Formality Under Berne? (Lokesh Vyas and Yogesh Badwal/Infojustice)
State AI Laws
Texas lawmakers push to regulate AI in government and the tech industry (Transparency Coalition)
📄 US State AI Governance Legislation Tracker — Download
us_state_ai_governance_legislation_trackerDownload
Summary
Thanks for reading Artist Rights Weekly!
Please help us spread the word — share Artist Rights Weekly on LinkedIn and with your network and help us support human artistry in an AI-driven world!