Exciting to many, distressing to some – digital media continues to hold the largest share of arts participation, and platforms are finding new ways to engage with online audiences. As new trends emerge, creators across disciplines are advocating and winning  fair compensation and increased protection of their work. From SAG-AFTRA to regional theatre, contracts with creators are offering greater rewards for digital content and protections for current and future AI.

Digital Media takes the lead in Arts Participation

Last month, the National Endowment for the Arts released findings from the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Results indicated that in-person attendance (48%) declined across disciplines relative to 2017, but creating or performing held fairly constant (52%). Digital participation remained the largest of any category with 75% of participants consuming art via digital media throughout the year.  While 48.5% of survey participants read books during the year, 18.5% of participants listened to audiobooks. 

These findings demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on arts participation, but may not necessarily be the most indicative of future trends.

The changing landscape for listening and Royalties

One of the largest avenues for online arts participation is music streaming. As the end of the year approaches, Spotify users are eager for  their personalized “Spotify Wrapped” report.  Calculated using user data throughout the year, this fun, shareable report shows individuals how much they listened to their favorite artists or genres. What started as an effort to build loyalty has grown into a tactful user-driven marketing campaign for the service, allowing users to share information about themselves. Competitors like Apple Music have quickly followed suit.

This comes as Spotify addresses the impact of AI  across its business practices. This month, the company announced changes to their royalty system to discourage artificial streaming and reallocate payouts toward artists who rely on streaming revenue.

Under increasing scrutiny, this may not be enough to meet demands for the industry. Spotify is pulling out of Uruguay as an update to copyright law calls for “fair and equitable remuneration” for artists. Currently paying out nearly 70% of revenue to record labels and publishers which hold music rights, Spotify is not able to sustain the additional financial burden and will begin to step back from the Uruguay market in January 2024.

Also this month, Spotify rolled out audiobooks for premium subscribers in the U.S., granting 15 hours of listening per month to more than 300,000 titles.This business model could be a pivotal change for the online listening landscape. Meanwhile, authors continue to push for regulation against fraudulent AI-generated e-books, filling online stores like Amazon. Some are self-published on fabricated names, while others copy an author’s name and style.

SAG-AFTRA Deal leaves questions about AI

The 118-day Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike came to a close this month as the union reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The draft agreement, which will be voted on by all members on December 5, calls for increased minimum pay, equity in hair and makeup, and training for harassment prevention, among other changes. One of the main sticking points in negotiations pertained to studio use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create synthetic performers or mimic an actor’s likeness. The draft agreement offered some protection to artists regarding work derived from their likeness. However, gray area remains around what it means to derive elements of an actor’s likeness and what level is acceptable.

This follows a number of notable union agreements this year, including the Writers Guild of America, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the League of Regional Theatres. Equitable pay,  post-COVID-19 emergency response, and changing technology were common themes throughout contract negotiations.

OpenAI Launches Custom Chatbots

OpenAI launched a custom chatbot service, called GPTs, which allows individuals and businesses to create unique GPTs for specific functions. The service is available to anyone with ChatGPT Plus and no software knowledge is required. Through custom instruction and information input, GPTs have a multitude of potential uses within business operations, from internal knowledge sharing to external customer service requests. 

OpenAI plans to open a “GPT Store” in the coming weeks, allowing verified builders to monetize unique GPTs, from laundry advice to sticker design.