Media Industries Podcast

Taylor Annabell, a postdoc from Utrecht University, studies fairness in the creator economy, while Nina Vindum Rasmussen, an LSE Fellow, focuses on AI and societal equity. They dissect the popular Spotify Wrapped phenomenon, revealing its marketing genius and social media influence. Through creative workshops, they engage users in reflecting on their music preferences and the implications of data representation. The discussion highlights generational insights, user experiences, and the balance between enjoying the curated experience and staying critical of data surveillance.

Copyright has been predicated on protecting original works of human authorship. When AI generates new works, however, what happens to the status of authorship, originality and protection? For this episode, we are very pleased to welcome back Tanya Aplin Aplin (Professor of Intellectual Property Law, King’s College London). Initially, Tanya outlines how copyright variously covers individual, collaborative and corporate forms of authorship. The discussion then moves on to unpack how the uses of AI problematise established conceptions of authorship and originality in creative production.

Across many industries, a key belief driving the current boom in AI use is the economic logic that certain processes can be streamlined in ways that reduce human effort and thereby bring efficiencies and cost reductions. How possible is this in the media industries, however, which have traditionally relied on high value, skills intensive human labour to create unique, distinct outputs? Putting this economic conundrum into perspective, we are very pleased to have as our guests Gillian Doyle (Professor of Media Economics, University of Glasgow) and Sabine Baumann (Professor of Digital Business, Berlin School of Economics and Law).

Developments in AI changed, transformed and disrupted many industries, but one of the industries where these shifts have been most felt is in music. From the bedroom producer using the assistance of AI in their creation, to multi-billion dollar music companies using AI for data management, AI is appearing everywhere. For this episode, Hazel Savage (VP Music Intelligence, SoundCloud) talks through her own experiences launching and subsequently investing in AI music start-ups, before explaining distinctions between the applications of generative and assistive AI, and some of the ethical challenges arising from the uses of AI in music creativity.

Nick Srnicek, a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy at King’s College London, dives into the intricate world of artificial intelligence and its profound effects on the media industry. He discusses how generative AI is transforming job dynamics and industry integrity while exploring the major players in the AI infrastructure, like NVIDIA and cloud giants. The conversation touches on the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China and its ramifications for technology trade, revealing the hidden complexities behind AI's rapid evolution.

While there is a lot of talk about how AI is transforming creative industries, before this discussion, there was already an industry where artificial intelligence was not only prominent, but a must in most outputs: the digital games industry. Currently, the industry is going through tumultuous times globally, while generative AI is disrupting game development and production processes. Digdem Sezen (Senior Lecturer in Games, University for the Creative Arts) historicizes the application of AI in games, before assessing how the industry is utilising AI tools to innovate the creation and content of games.

Generative AI challenges the human monopoly on creativity, and consequently, when addressing the impacts of AI on the media industries, one of the highlight concerns that has emerged is the extent to which applications of AI may disrupt, and potentially also displace, the work of creative practitioners. Hye-Kyung Lee (Professor of Cultural Policy, King’s College London) reflects on how uses of AI have intensified a range of uncertainties concerning the status and value of human labour in creative work. She discusses how AI introduces insecurities over the role, rights, protection and distinctiveness of human creativity.

Nina Vindum Rasmussen, an LSE Fellow specializing in the power dynamics between screen workers and streaming services, delves into the impact of big data on the creative industries. She discusses how major platforms like Netflix utilize data to shape content, balancing algorithmic insights with artistic vision. The conversation reveals the challenges screen creatives face in navigating confidentiality and the tension between their intuition and data-driven demands. Rasmussen also introduces 'counter data,' exploring how creators resist the control exerted by streaming giants.

Tanya Aplin, a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London, dives into the complexities of AI and copyright. She explores the shifting landscape of creativity as AI takes on a more active role in generating content. Aplin discusses how jurisdictional differences affect the status of AI-generated works and the legal disputes arising from using copyrighted materials as AI training data. The conversation reveals the challenges of defining originality in an era where machines can create alongside humans.

This podcast dives into the fascinating relationship between artificial intelligence and the media industries. Key topics include the intricacies of copyright and authorship in the age of AI. The discussion highlights AI’s transformative impact on creativity in film, gaming, and music, as well as the challenges of creative precarity. It also tackles the political economy of AI in music, focusing on licensing issues and industry dynamics. Finally, the economic implications of AI in media raise crucial questions about misinformation and consumer privacy.