25 Ways Media & Entertainment Use Generative AI Right Now
Generative AI In the Industry Isn't Just "Talk": It's A Major Reality Now ... But Quietly
[NOTE: I experienced technical difficulties sending this newsletter yesterday, so you likely didn’t receive it. But if you already did, please excuse the duplication. Hopefully, it’s worth reading twice!]
Welcome to this week’s brAIn dump! First, as always, “the AI:10” - 10 key generative AI related media and entertainment headlines from last week. Next, “the mAIn event” - my headline story. Then, “the cocktAIl” - mixology of “must attend” events - Digital Hollywood’s virtual AI Summit starts Monday, July 22nd (through the 24th)! Finally, “the AI case tracker” - updates on the key generative AI-focused copyright infringement cases.
You can listen to this week’s episode via this link to my companion “the brAIn” podcast. Or, you can find it, together with all episodes, on all major podcast platforms (including Apple and Spotify via the buttons below). Please follow it, rate it, and share it. I record it myself (so you get my “flavor”). No AI/synthesized voices here!
And here’s a clip from MONDAY’s Digital Hollywood session at 6 pm Pacific. I asked Andy Beach, Microsoft’s CTO (media and entertainment), about how he sees generative AI video evolving in the next 1 year, 3 years and beyond. His answer is fascinating. (Fun fact: this clip was auto-generated via a new AI tool, Opus Clip. Powerful. Fascinating).
I. the “AI:10” - last week’s 10 key AI headlines
(1) IATSE members voted and r-AI-tified! Hollywood’s major union for below-the-line workers voted to ratify new 3-year contracts - with surprisingly high margins (more than 85% of the vote). But not all were on board, particularly with the generative AI language. Some Art Directors Guild members urged “no” votes after concluding that the contract’s AI language “allows our combined crafts within Local 800 to be put at direct risk of an emerging technology not designed to enhance creativity, but instead to learn from and ultimately replace us.” Read more here.
(2) It’s the smoking gun all creators have been looking for. Wired published evidence that proved that major generative AI players like Nvidia, Anthropic and Apple (yes, purportedly “artist friendly” Apple!) scraped at least 173,536 YouTube videos — from across 48,000 channels — to train their AI. All without consent or compensation, of course. I haven’t seen any responses to Wired’s story. Read more via Wired here.
(3) It’s the case of “the great disappearing of data” due to an “emerging crisis in consent.” The New York Times, in a “must read” story, reports that data for AI training is disappearing fast. And mounting media and entertainment pressure from the likes of The New York Times — and pending copyright infringement litigation against OpenAI and others — is a critical reason why. All the more reason for Big Tech to move faster to come up with fair data licensing schemes with copyright holders. Read The New York Times story here.
(4) If this is what genAI video can do now, just imagine the next 6 months! The next 1-5 years? Watch this incredible video to see how much AI generated video has evolved in just the last few months. How much will genAI transform creativity and the Arts in the next few years? Talk amongst yourselves. You may want a drink. Or several! (TONIGHT’s Digital Hollywood session that I moderate at 6 pm Pacific is all about this issue, and features expert panelists like Andy Beach, CTO of Microsoft laying out the video timeline they see — definitely worth watching! More information about how to stream the session — all entirely free — below in “the cocktAIl”).
(5) From the “No, Duh!” department. AI is THE key selling point for new smartphones. Read more here via Axios.
(6) Animate this! In last week’s quarterly earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted the current use (and power) of generative AI in the animation sector. Read more here.
(7) “Tu lista de reproducción perfecta!” Yes, Spotify’s new Spanish speaking generative AI-powered DJ feature says it can create the perfect playlist for you. In any language. Read more here. Meanwhile, Mickey’s mouse ears hear the AI sound too! Disney’s music group just struck a deal with genAI music startup Audioshake to “unlock new listening and fan engagement experiences” for its catalog of music. And if IP champion Disney is doing it, you can bet everyone will be. Read more here.
(8) But you can’t just set it and forget it. You can’t just prompt and press “enter” to generate commercially viable content. TheWrap’s Alex Kantrowitz spent a week with Amazon’s AI team and concluded that genAI’s initial hype cycle is bumping into real world reality. My “take” is that the hype is real. GenAI will transform our creative lives more than we think. It just takes time to see the forest from the trees. Read more here.
(9) Meanwhile the Zuck is doing the unthinkable - he’s holding back! Shocking, I know, to think that Meta’s CEO would hold back on anything that can generate massive revenues and overall stock “pops.” But Meta is withholding its multimodal AI models from EU countries over legal concerns about the region’s AI regulations, which are significantly more advanced than the U.S.’s non-existent ones. Read more here.
(10) Land your next great entertainment gig with the help of your new generative AI executive coach whispering in your ear! Yes, you heard me right. It’s your new interview “hack” to land your next dream gig. Read more here via Insider about new AI tools designed to help you ace your interview (by bluffing your way through it … in real time).
II. the mAIn event - 25 Ways the Media & Entertainment Business Is Using Generative AI Right Now
It’s the media and entertainment industry’s worst kept secret. As much as most believe generative AI is lightly used in “the business” at this point (due to copyright infringement lawsuits and creative community blowback), it’s being used much more than you think. Generative AI is very much alive and growing fast within the industry. Here are 25 prominent use cases happening right now.
(1) Content Creation. Automating filmmaking (OpenAI’s Sora, Luma AI’s Dream Machine), scriptwriting (ChatGPT-4o), story generation, storyboarding (Lore Machine), and content ideas for films, television, video games, and just about everything else. Additionally, analyzing scripts for potential success and optimizing narrative structures.
(2) Visual Effects & Pre-Visualization. Enhancing CGI and special effects, together with visualizing scenes before shooting. Seyhan Lee is a leader here.
(3) Voice Dubbing, Lip-Synching, Synthesis & Voice Cloning. Automated audio dubbing for film, television and advertising series with synchronized lip movements. Flawless is a leader here, opening up global audiences for stories originally produced in any language. Separately, creating realistic voiceovers and dubbing using synthetic voices, and using AI to replicate actors’ voices for continuity. ElevenLabs is a leader here (and is part of the Disney Accelerator).
(4) Digital Humans & Deepfakes. Creating lifelike digital avatars for various media applications (virtual influencers fall into this category for social media campaigns). Separately, creating realistic simulations of actors (digital clones/twins) for digital “resurrection” and special effects (such as realistic face aging). Leading talent agency CAA is such a believer that it created its own “Vault” just for that purpose.
(5) Virtual Production. Simulating environments and scenes for real time filming to enable creative freedom and drive down production costs. Disney’s “The Mandalorian” was a transformational moment in this regard.
(6) AI Generated Art. Creating unique artwork, imagery and visuals for media and marketing projects. Adobe Firefly is doing its best to lead the way here.
(7) Personalized Content. Tailoring media recommendations based on user preferences and behavior to enhance user engagement and satisfaction. Perhaps not as “sexy,” but definitely impactful. Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters touted genAI’s power in this past Thursday’s quarterly earnings call. “We think generative AI has tremendous potential to improve our recommendations and discovery systems even further,” he said.
(8) Fan Content Creation & Collaboration. Enabling fans to create their own creative works using AI tools, and enabling collaborative projects through AI powered platforms. Innovative artist Grimes leads the way here with her Elf.tech platform that gives her music stems and voice to her fans, so that they can build their own Grimes inspired music. Grimes’ only “ask” is that fans share revenues 50/50 with her for any of those AI generated tracks that become commercially successful.
(9) Content Resurrection, Restoration & Automatic Colorization. This is a fascinating, yet under-appreciated, opportunity for studios, music labels and all IP owners to unlock new value from creative works that are now simply collecting dust. Apart from the exciting financial possibilities, the power to breathe new life into old works in order to introduce them to new generations is an exciting one. Restoring old films and colorizing black and white films is just one small part of the opportunity.
(10) Content Repurposing. Efficiently and cost-effectively transforming existing content into new formats and mediums in order to expand creative and monetization possibilities. Now artists can create one core story that is unveiled and told in myriad ways.
(11) Music Composition & Creation. Generating music and soundtracks for any occasion, including specific moods or scenes. The most notorious AI music generators are Suno and Udio (both of which were just recently sued by the RIAA for copyright infringement). Check out Jen Music for a music generator that claims to be “ethically trained” only on licensed music.
(12) Audio Enhancement & Mixing. Improving audio quality and creating immersive soundscapes. This also relates to the “Content Resurrection” point I make in #9 above.
(13) Enhanced Gaming & Game Level Design. Generating complex game levels and environments. Separately, creating more intelligent and adaptive non-player characters.
(14) Animation. Creating full animation in seconds (Fable Studio is a leading player here), and streamlining animation by generating keyframes and motion capture. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted generative AI’s power in the animation sector in his quarterly earnings call last week. “I think that AI is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories,” he said.
(15) AI Journalism. Creating news articles, reports and stories to expand volume of content and reduce overall costs. BuzzFeed notoriously jettisoned virtually its entire human staff in order to focus first on generative AI content. But it goes deeper than that. That’s what The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft is all about. The Times argues that generative AI companies are creating market substitutes, after having trained on their content.
(16) AI Forensics / Content Verification. An entire industry of new generative AI companies are now focused on developing tools for fact-checking and verifying the authenticity of news and information, as well as identifying AI-generated content and deepfakes. These tools are needed now more than ever as pivotal elections approach.
(17) Content Moderation. Automating the detection and removal of inappropriate content.
(18) Content Curation. Curating personalized playlists and media libraries to expand enjoyment and engagement.
(19) Predictive Analytics. Forecasting audience trends and content performance to optimize content development. This is an opportunity on which studios will increasingly focus in order to optimize their overall “hit rate” on productions.
(20) Sentiment Analysis. Monitoring audience reactions and feedback to optimize content.
(21) Audience Engagement. Developing chatbots and virtual assistants for artist-fan interaction which, among other things, opens up new monetization opportunities (particularly for artists and IP holders with established fan bases and overall “brands”).
(22) Interactive Ads & Ad Targeting. Developing interactive and engaging ad content, and enhancing ad personalization and placement for better engagement.
(23) Interactive Storytelling. Developing interactive narratives for games and immersive experiences.
(24) Real-Time Editing. Automating video and audio editing processes.
(25) Live Event Enhancement. Enhancing live experiences with real-time effects and interactions. Have you been to any live shows lately? If so — especially EDM shows — you’ve experienced this already. The immersion possibilities are seemingly endless.
What do you think? Send me your feedback and reach out to me at peter@creativemedia.biz and check out my firm Creative Media.
III. the cocktAIl- your mix of “must attend” AI events
After all, it’s always happy hour somewhere!
Digital Hollywood’s long-awaited mega virtual AI Summit STARTS TODAY, MONDAY July 22nd! Scores of sessions with the top minds in generative AI, media and entertainment, streaming ENTIRELY FREE and running through this Wednesday, the 24th. Check out the entire agenda - and register here via this link.
I moderate two sessions - including the evening Keynote roundtable discussion about the generative AI video timeline Monday, July 22nd, at 6 pm Pacific. I moderate a kick ass panel of experts discussing practical video applications today — and where we will be 1, 3, 5 years from now and beyond (including when we will see virtually fully AI generated feature films).
My panel includes a veritable “who’s who”:
Andy Beach, CTO of Microsoft (Media & Entertainment)
Jen Hollingsworth, Chief Commercial Officer of Flawless
Renard Jenkins, leading AI expert and evangelist
Paul Trillo, leading AI filmmaker
Phillip Fury, AI innovator and entrepreneur
You won’t want to miss it. It’s a great one. And I host a second session — about the state of generative AI-related copyright infringement law and litigation — this Wednesday, the 24th, at 3 pm Pacific. You can register via the link above.
IV. the AI legal case tracker - updates on key AI litigation
I lay out the facts - and the latest developments - via this link to the “AI case tracker” tab on “the brAIn” website. You’ll get everything you need (including my detailed analysis of each case) for the cases listed below.
(1) The New York Times v. Microsoft & OpenAI (perhaps THE single most important copyright infringement lawsuit brought by media companies against generative AI companies)
(2) UMG Recordings v. Suno
(3) UMG Recordings v. Uncharted Labs (d/b/a Udio)
(4) Universal Music Group, et al. v. Anthropic
(5) Sarah Silverman, et al. v. Meta (class action)
(6) Sarah Silverman v. OpenAI (class action)
(7) Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney
NOTE: Go to the “AI case tracker” tab at the top of the page at “the brAIn” website.
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