VOLUME 50

Today marks 50 volumes of The Pace Report! If you’re a subscriber, thank you so much for your support on this newsletter — I sincerely hope you get value from it. We have some more exciting announcements on the way, so definitely stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy this week’s round ups!

— Jacob Pace

NBA Teams Sued for Using Copyrighted Music in Social Media Videos

What happened: Kobalt and other music companies have filed lawsuits against 14 NBA teams, accusing them of using copyrighted music in social media videos without permission. The teams allegedly used songs by popular artists like Jay-Z, Cardi B, Meek Mill, Migos, and OutKast to engage their fanbase on various social media channels and on the official NBA website. As of this past Monday (July 22nd), many, if not all, of the videos listed in the lawsuits were no longer available for viewing on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and NBA.com.

Why it matters: Intellectual property rights have become an ongoing topic of contention in the digital age, and this case, underscores the importance for corporations to obtain proper licenses for music used in promotional content. It’s a reminder to everyone about potential legal risks of using copyrighted material commercially without authorization, and that legal action can and will be taken (especially if you’re a big enough company). Often times, rights holders will let an infringer continue to use the music illegally without notice, as the more they infringe, the bigger the lawsuit becomes by the time they strike down — and that’s clearly what happened here.

What’s next: The lawsuits seek the statutory maximum of $150,000 per violation of direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement, which, depending on the number of infringements, could lead to damages in the millions of dollars for the NBA teams in question.

Canva Acquires Generative AI Startup Leonardo.ai

What happened: Canva has announced the acquisition of Leonardo.ai, a startup specializing in generative AI content and research. The financial terms remain undisclosed, but the deal includes a mix of cash and stock, bringing all 120 of Leonardo.ai's employees into the Canva family.

For context: Sydney-based Leonardo.ai, founded in 2022, was originally meant to focus on video game asset creation — the startup’s founders met while working at a video game company. But then Leonardo.ai’s team decided to build out the platform to meet more scenarios, like creating and training AI models for image creation across industries such as fashion, advertising and architecture.

What’s next: According to Cameron Adams, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Canva, “Leonardo will continue to run independently of Canva with a focus on rapid innovation, research, and development, now backed by Canva’s resources.” Canva plans to integrate Leonardo into its generative AI suite, Magic Studio, enhancing the tools and features available to its 180 million monthly users.

NBCUniversal Tops Olympic Ad Sales with Over $1.2 Billion

What’s the scoop: The Summer Olympics kicked off less than a week ago but host network NBCUniversal reported that it has already surpassed $1.2 billion in advertising revenue for the games so far. This figure impressively includes nearly $500 million from first-time sponsors.

The significance: In a time where there are so many advertising options, this high revenue milestone marks a significant achievement for NBCUniversal. While many networks have approached these opportunities in a traditional manner, NBCUniversal has been vocal about its its implementation of innovations like commercial-free programming with sponsor logos, which have made for a more engaging and organic viewer experience. And clearly, that has worked!

OpenAI Introduces SearchGPT for Enhanced AI-Powered Web Searches

What happened: OpenAI has started to take direct shots at search behemoth Google with the soft launch of SearchGPT, a prototype AI product that is aimed at innovating internet search. The tool combines the conversational abilities of AI with realtime information retrieval, aiming to provide fast and relevant answers with clear sources.

Why it matters: On top of innovating the search game with new technology, OpenAI is planning to form partnerships with a variety of publishers and creators on the internet, to be able to provide even better real-time results than what’s available currently.

How to get access: The tool is not available to the public yet, but if you’re interested to try it out, you can sign up to join the waitlist here.

That’s all for this week! See you next week.