Bypass: Music Industry News for Independent Artists

Saturday edition • 3 min read

Google Says You Already Said Yes

What's Up

Google. Google. Google. You finally showed your true colors.

Back in March, indies sued Google for training AI on their music without asking. You know, the usual. Google responded. Hidden somewhere in the wall of text called YouTube's ToS is something really sneaky: Google says they've got a 'broad license' and that supposedly gives them free rein to train on your stuff.

So What

YouTube's one of the first places a budding musician drops their music, the spot you go to get found. Turns out it's just Google's personal AI feeding ground now. And if Google wins this, just expect your replacement the next day.

Now What

You already clicked "Agree", so there's no clean way to undo it. So going forward, read the fine print. Register your music with the Copyright Office and give yourself a fighting chance. Some artists in this very case got tossed for skipping it, but let's be clear on something here: even if you register, it won't undo a license you already agreed to.

[Full story at DMN]

NO ROBOTS WERE USED IN THE MAKING OF THIS ALBUM

What's Up

Jazz Is Dead (Jazz Is Dead?), a label/live company, rolled out Played By Humans, and it rules. It's basically a way to prove that your track's human-made. All you need to do is upload your track and if it's human, it gets an authentication stamp. 1.7 million tracks verified; maybe 'human' is a genre now.

So What

They're really aiming for streaming platforms to pick up the same standard long term. But short term, it's basically a DIY badge, with the same spirit as Queen printing “no synthesizers!” in their liner notes. The founders aren't afraid to walk the walk. When an AI track called “Through My Soul” went viral, their co-founder Adrian Younge had his band make a fully human cover of it. It's in his touring set now.

Now What

Go to jazzisdead.com/playedbyhumans and get your catalog verified and certified. With all the slop that's out there, human-made might just become a selling point.

[Full story at Music Ally]

Don't Leave Your Spotify Front Door Unlocked

What's Up

A new Bridgit Mendler EP dropped on Spotify. Actually, wait, scratch that. Okay, turns out it wasn't her. It was a fake. Because, of course, it was.

So What

You might be asking, “Where's Spotify's Artist Profile Protection?” “Didn't it work?” It's there and it works (allegedly). It's opt-in, though, and apparently, Bridgit didn't opt in. She actually stepped away from music to focus on college, and that's when the impostors struck.

Now What

You probably aren't opted into Spotify's Artist Profile Protection yet; let's fix that. Takes two, maybe five minutes tops. Explaining to your fans why you dropped an EP you know nothing about is not a conversation you want to have.

[Full story at DMN]