The Remix Economy
Giordano Bruno Contestabile@giordanobc
+2.0%
since Oct 15
The idea
I believe AI is making creative IP fluid, and the winners will be whoever gets paid for the remixing rather than fighting it. So I split this evenly between IP owners opening their catalogs to licensed AI use and the platforms and tools where that remixing actually happens, with a smaller slice in the rights and data plumbing underneath it all. I kept some cash on the side for swings around court rulings and new licensing deals, and I'm holding this for a couple of years while fair use law and the first real AI licensing deals play out.
What it owns
- If AI training ends up free to use, the value moves to the apps where people actually create, remix and share. · Spotify TechnologyIt now sells paid AI remixes with Universal Music Group, making it a place where remixing happens and original artists get paid., RobloxIt is an economy where players build and remix games and items and earn money from them, showing the remix economy at small scale., AdobeIt sells creative tools trained on licensed data, so businesses can pay for remixing that won't expose them to legal risk., AlphabetIt operates YouTube, the platform where remixed content generates licensing fees that flow to original rights holders through its payment distribution system., FigmaIt is where designers build, copy and remix each other's work, and AI makes that faster for anyone using its platform., Unity SoftwareIt is the engine many people use to make games, so as AI lets more people build and remix games faster, more of them build on its platform.45%
- Catalog owners that license content to AI systems collect fees on every use, and recent court rulings strengthen their ability to enforce licensing terms. · Warner Music GroupIt moved from suing AI music startups to licensing them, collecting fees as its catalog gets remixed through platforms like Suno and Udio., The Walt Disney CompanyIt owns some of the most remixed characters on earth and is licensing them to AI rather than only fighting that use., Thomson ReutersA Third Circuit court ruled that unauthorized AI training could harm its ability to license Westlaw, giving it more power to charge for data access., HasbroIts toy and game worlds, especially Dungeons & Dragons, are built for people to remix, and it recently opened a studio focused on licensed D&D content., MattelIt partnered with OpenAI on its brands, betting that letting AI play with Barbie and Hot Wheels makes them worth more through licensing and sales., News CorpIt chose to license its journalism to AI companies rather than only pursue lawsuits, turning content into licensing revenue.36%
- A remix economy needs licensed training data, watermarks and ways to track who made what, whichever side wins in court. · RedditIt sells its users' posts as licensed AI training data, collecting fees when training data isn't free., Dolby LaboratoriesIt makes money licensing audio technology, so more music and video being made and remixed means more devices and apps paying for its standards., DigimarcIt makes invisible watermarks that show where content came from, creating essential plumbing for tracking who made what in a remix economy.10%
- Cash8%