Amazon-owned music streaming service Amazon Music has launched a redesigned version of its ‘Amazon Music for Artists’ website.

Amazon Music for Artists is accessible by artists and their teams (including managers, labels, and distributors) who have content delivered to the Amazon Music platform.

The platform, which features real-time data and analytics, is described as “a one-stop shop to manage your business and presence on Amazon Music”.

Spotify is currently in discussions to introduce full-length music videos to its app, challenging YouTube and TikTok in the highly competitive video streaming market.

The said talks were reported by Bloomberg on Saturday (July 1), citing people familiar with the plan who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks.

The sources reportedly revealed that Spotify has initiated conversations with potential partners about incorporating the new video feature into its platform. The company declined to provide any comment on the development.

Sound, a music NFT discovery and direct-to-community monetization platform has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z crypto.

The round also saw participation from Palm Tree Crew, A Capital, Sound Ventures, Collab + Currency, Scalar Capital, Snoop Dogg, Ryan Tedder, Tay Keith amongst others.

Accordiing to Sound, its platform provides tools for artists to upload, stream, and monetize their music as NFTs “without third party infringement of any kind”.

Sound also say that it lets artists keep 95% of the proceeds from their work and 10% of every resale “without giving up any ownership of their master or publishing rights”.

Sony Music Nashville has appointed Fred Rubenstein as Vice President, Digital Marketing, effective immediately.

Rubenstein will be responsible for overseeing the digital marketing team and leading the strategy, execution and implementation of innovative social media and digital marketing campaigns across the SMN roster.

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music rights holder, has called on the US Congress to enact laws protecting creators and other rights holders against copyright infringement by AI developers and users.

At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property on Wednesday (July 12), Jeffrey Harleston, General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Business and Legal Affairs at UMG, laid out three specific laws UMG would like to see enacted.

They include: A nationwide right of publicity law; the ability of copyright owners to see what has gone into the training of AI models; and the labeling of AI-generated content.

“Right of publicity” refers to an intellectual property right that protects against the unauthorized use of a person’s likeness, voice or other aspects of their identity.

The concept has become a hot topic now that AI apps have given users the ability to create music that convincingly imitates an artist’s music or vocals – as witnessed earlier this year with the viral “fake Drake” track. Both artists who were imitated on that song – Drake and The Weeknd – are signed to UMG labels.

“Deep fakes and or unauthorized recordings or visuals of artists generated by AI can lead to consumer confusion, unfair competition against the artist that actually was the original creator, market dilution and damage to the artist’s reputation, potentially irreparably harming their career,” Harleston told the senators on the subcommittee.

“An artist’s voice is often the most valuable part of their livelihood and public persona, and to steal it, no matter the means, is wrong.”

A number of initiatives have also been rolled out to promote artists and drive music discovery on the flagship TikTok app.

In May, TikTok launched a #NewMusic Search Hub, described as a “dedicated space for artists around the world to showcase their new songs and for fans to discover their next favorite track”.

According to TikTok, the term ‘New Music’, searched via the #NewMusic had already amassed over 18 billion views on the platform prior to the launch of this official new hub on the app.

In June, TikTok launched a new ‘new release’ feature that lets artists highlight a new track to fans for up to 14 days before release, and for 30 days after release. BTS became the first act to use the promotion tool.