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VISUAL CREATORS
For your artistic side.

💰 YouTubers Cash In on Unused Footage!

The Story: YouTube creators are turning their unused video footage into cash by selling it to artificial intelligence companies. Entities like OpenAI and Google are paying up to $4 per minute for these unpublished clips, providing a lucrative opportunity for creators to diversify their income beyond typical brand partnerships.

The Details:

• AI companies are currently purchasing unpublished video footage from creators, offering between $1 and $4 per minute, depending on the content's quality.

• Footage shot in 4K or using creative formats like drone videos commands higher prices, while regular TikTok or YouTube footage typically goes for $1 to $2 per minute.

• Talent agencies and licensing firms are facilitating these transactions, ensuring creators are compensated fairly while protecting their rights and reputations.

• The demand for unique video content has surged as AI companies work to enhance their video-generating capabilities, creating an urgent need for diverse and original training data.

• Contracts usually include terms preventing AI firms from replicating creators or using their footage in damaging ways, ensuring creators maintain control over their digital identity.

Why It Matters: This emerging trend highlights a significant shift in how content creators can monetize their work, especially amidst increasing scrutiny over content ownership in the AI sector. By engaging in these licensing deals, creators diversify their revenue streams while effectively participating in the growing creative ecosystem powered by AI technology. For photographers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals, this represents a valuable opportunity to capitalize on previously unused assets.

PRODUCTION MASTERY
The commercial aspects of creativity.

📰 AI Revolutionizes Journalism: Bloomberg’s Vision

The Story: John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg, emphasizes that AI is transforming journalism by automating parts of the writing and editing processes. Although concerns linger about job loss, he argues that AI will enhance human efforts rather than replace them, revolutionizing how news is produced and consumed, especially in terms of speed and accuracy.

The Details:

• Micklethwait reveals that over a third of the 5,000 stories produced daily at Bloomberg involve some level of automation, streamlining operations significantly.

• He predicts that breaking news may soon be processed in milliseconds, thanks to AI's ability to quickly distill vast amounts of information, making timeliness crucial.

• The demand for human journalists on the ground remains essential, as AI lacks the ability to navigate nuanced political landscapes and local insights.

• Editorial roles may see a shift, with AI tools increasingly aiding in story ideation, restructuring drafts, and fact-checking—though human oversight is still vital for in-depth analysis.

• The rise of personalized news consumption through AI brings challenges, as audiences may fear being pigeonholed and losing out on diverse content.

Why It Matters: The conversation around AI's role in journalism is significant for creative professionals across various industries, as it illustrates the balance between technology and human expertise. For those in the creative sector, understanding how AI can enhance workflows—not replace them—is crucial in preparing for the future of storytelling. As Micklethwait notes, organizations that navigate AI integration thoughtfully could set a new standard in the ever-evolving media landscape, affecting jobs, the quality of content, and how audiences engage with news.

CREATOR ECONOMY
Navigating the digital creative world.

🔍 Meta's AI Now At Center of a Copyright Storm!

The Story: A new lawsuit against Meta reveals that CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly approved the use of a dataset containing pirated content from LibGen to train the company’s AI models. This revelation adds fuel to ongoing discussions about copyright infringement in the AI industry. High-profile authors, including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, are challenging Meta’s claim of fair use, arguing that the company knowingly utilized stolen materials.

The Details:

• The lawsuit, Kadrey v. Meta, highlights internal communications suggesting Zuckerberg was aware of the dataset’s pirated nature and approved its use for the Llama AI model’s training.

• Plaintiffs claim Meta employees referred to LibGen as a “data set we know to be pirated” and expressed concerns that using such a dataset could impair their negotiations with regulatory bodies.

• The filing also alleges that Meta took steps to hide its copyright infringement by stripping attribution and copyright markers from the content used for training.

• Despite previous court dismissals of copyright claims against Meta, new evidence suggests possible illegal actions and fuels calls for a renewed legal examination.

Why It Matters: This lawsuit could have significant implications for the creative industry and AI developers alike. If the court sides with the plaintiffs, it may establish a precedent that limits AI companies' ability to utilize copyright-protected content without permission. This could not only reshape how tech firms approach AI training but also highlight the ongoing struggle between publishing rights and burgeoning AI technologies, making it crucial for creative professionals to stay informed on these legal battles.

🔥 Press Worthy

📽️ VISUAL CREATORS

Photographers are turning their backs on Instagram, yearning for the nostalgic embrace of Flickr in 2025. With its chronological feed and community-driven engagement, Flickr offers a distraction-free haven for sharing and appreciating photography, unlike Instagram's algorithm-driven chaos.

The potential merger of Getty Images and Shutterstock raises eyebrows in the stock photography realm. Both giants face challenges from declining prices and AI disruptions. This consolidation could reshape industry dynamics, but will it genuinely solve contributor dissatisfaction and tech challenges?

📈 PRODUCTION MASTERY

Ben Stiller reflects on Hollywood’s challenges post-COVID and strikes, stating it’s tougher to get projects greenlit. He likens this struggle to “Severance,” where characters lack control over decisions, mirroring how creatives often navigate a convoluted industry landscape.

Elon Musk warns AI has consumed all human-generated data, prompting reliance on synthetic data that can lead to hallucinations. Tech companies are pivoting to this artificial approach, raising concerns over authenticity as we blur the lines between real and generated content.

🎭 CREATOR ECONOMY

TikTok creators are sounding the alarm as the platform faces a potential U.S. ban. With just a week left for ByteDance to sell, many are urging fans to migrate to other networks to protect their income and visibility. The pressure’s on as creators face an uncertain future.

Instagram's recent survey probes whether users would invest in enhanced engagement, like buying followers or likes. This shift raises eyebrows, as it conflicts with Meta’s stance against paid engagement, hinting at a potential pivot toward monetizing visibility for verified users.

📚 Learn & Grow

📽️ VISUAL CREATORS

• Wes Anderson Isn’t Done Making Animated Films, but Does Find It ‘Slightly Overwhelming’

• In Los Angeles, Artists’ Life Work Has Gone Up Into Smoke And Ashes

📈 PRODUCTION MASTERY

• I Asked 100 Freelancers How To Actually Get More Clients (7 Evidence-Based Strategies for 2025)

• What’s behind ballooning video game budgets?

🎭 CREATOR ECONOMY

• TikTok Shares Insights Into Emerging Brand Trends and Approaches

• How to Use Social Media to Find Out What Content Your Followers Want