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Part of AI adoption is being viewed as a modern Luddite risk, affecting major companies like Google and Amazon which utilize AI in their services.

How could the Copyright Royalty Board's streaming rate decisions affect Alphabet Inc.?

Possible What happens if… A possibility worth considering, not a forecast.

Alphabet Inc. faces financial uncertainty from new streaming rates and AI fraud risks The Copyright Royalty Board is currently determining streaming rates for services like Google, which dictates how much the company must pay songwriters. This regulatory action, combined with the growing threat of streaming fraud exacerbated by artificial intelligence, introduces financial uncertainty. Fraudulent streams, such as those created by AI, directly reduce the royalty pool available to real artists and rights holders, thereby impacting Google's revenue structure and, consequently, Alphabet Inc.'s financial standing.

Reported by 1 independent outlet Written Thursday
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How it reaches Alphabet Inc.

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The facts so far

As reported. Each one links to where it comes from.

  • The Copyright Royalty Board is determining songwriter streaming rates for 2028-2032.billboard.com
  • Streaming services pay for musical works based on a percentage of revenue, from which royalties are distributed proportionally based on plays.billboard.com
  • A man named Michael Smith created hundreds of thousands of songs with AI that were streamed billions of times, diverting millions of dollars in royalties.billboard.com
  • Deezer reported that 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks were being uploaded to its platform every day, with up to 85% of the streams of those tracks being artificial.billboard.com

Why it matters

The integrity of the music royalty system is at stake, as streaming fraud, supercharged by AI, threatens to divert millions of dollars from legitimate songwriters and artists. This issue is described as a make-or-break challenge for the music industry, requiring alignment among digital services, publishers, and songwriters to create standards for AI labeling and transparency.

This regulatory and technological challenge is not unique to Google. Other major platforms, such as Apple Music, have already identified billions of fraudulent streams, and the issue has been linked to criminal activity, including money laundering, across various streaming services.

What we don't know yet

  • What specific streaming rates will the Copyright Royalty Board ultimately set for Google?
  • What industry-wide standards will be adopted to address AI-generated music and streaming fraud?

What would change this answer

The CRB mandates stricter AI labeling and transparency requirements for streaming services.This would increase operational compliance costs for Google, potentially leading to a negative financial impact on Alphabet Inc.
Streaming services successfully implement and scale AI detection methods to exclude fraudulent streams.This would reduce the financial risk associated with fraud, mitigating the negative pressure on the royalty pool revenue for Alphabet Inc.

Who else could feel it

Other possible ripples from the same event.

Reporting

Keep going

The full eventCopyright Royalty Board sets streaming rates for Amazon and Google amid AI fraud concerns Everything aboutAlphabet Inc.

Brind's analysis is written by AI from the reporting linked above and can be wrong. This explainer is a possibility worth considering, not a forecast: steps marked as Brind's reasoning are not stated in the reporting. It is not investment advice; do your own research.