A few weeks ago, I joined a panel of experts at the Television Academy for a packed house Academy-only “AI Summit” weekend session. We discussed the latest business, legal, and regulatory AI issues and developments that impact Hollywood and the overall media and entertainment community. I tackled many of the business issues — including the latest licensing news and business models.

For the first time, non-Academy members can listen to this closed door session here on my "the brAIn" podcast.

So, sit back. Grab your popcorn. And enjoy. Think you’ll get a lot out of it.

Audio courtesy of the Television Academy. Special thanks to the Academy and to our great moderator at the event, Holly Leff-Pressman.

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Check out Peter and his firm Creative Media
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And send feedback to bizdev@creativemedia.biz.

In this episode, I feature a fascinating "deep dive" of my newsletter with the same title - generated using Google NotebookLM (all prompts were mine, and I approve the episode's content).

Here’s the headline: OpenAI killed Sora and its $1 billion deal with Disney due to the sheer economics of boundless consumer generative AI video, not AI tech. Enterprise use is in focus.

Here are the top 5 takeaways:

1. The "Compute Tax" is Unaffordable: High-quality video requires massive electricity and infrastructure; even for OpenAI, the cost of consumer-scale video generation is currently unsustainable.
2. Pivot from Toys to Utility: The industry is shifting from flashy consumer "toys" (like Sora) toward "Agentic AI" that handles high-value enterprise tasks like coding and logistics.
3. Rise of "Invisible" Professional AI: AI isn't disappearing; it’s moving into "unseen" professional workflows to solve specific production friction and VFX bottlenecks rather than replacing creators.
4. Prioritizing IPO-Ready Revenue: As OpenAI nears an IPO, it is abandoning costly consumer experiments in favor of scalable, enterprise-grade tools that offer clearer returns.
5. A Reality Check for Human Artistry: The dream of "prompting" a blockbuster from a couch has failed, reaffirming that human taste, skill, and creative effort remain essential.

Sign up for the companion "the brAIn" newsletter via this link.
Check out Peter and his firm Creative Media
Check out Peter's LinkedIn bio here.
And send feedback to bizdev@creativemedia.biz.

In this episode, I feature a fascinating "deep dive" of my newsletter titled "Market Substitution: Generative AI's 'Fair Use' Fail" that I generated using Google NotebookLM (all prompts were mine, and I approve the episode's content).

Here’s the headline: the Creative Community now has AI on its copyright litigation heels. That means that the “3 C’s” of so-called “ethical AI” — Consent, Credit and Compensation — are now taking hold via accelerating licensing deals and emerging “usage based” business models.

Here are the Key Take-Aways:

• 3 “fair use” decisions so far (Bartz v. Anthropic, Kadrey v. Meta, Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence). Anthropic settled for $1.5 Billion due to court pressure. Other two cases pending (Thomson Reuters’ decision is on appeal).
• Both Judges in Kadrey & Thomson Reuters focused on “market substitution” as the key rationale to beat back AI’s “fair use” defense, following the Supreme Court’s most recent copyright case (Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith).
• Meta prevailed on “fair use,” but the Judge made it clear that Meta would have lost if plaintiffs’ lawyers made the right “market substitution” arguments.
• Courts’ increased skepticism of AI’s “fair use” defense is fueling accelerating AI settlements and content licensing activity, which is good for both AI and media.
• New “usage based” AI content licensing models are being defined right now, following the same pattern as we’ve seen in past massive technology shifts impacting the entertainment industry. Napster’s music theft led to new streaming royalties. YouTube’s content IP theft led to its ContentID system.

Sign up for the companion "the brAIn" newsletter via this link.
Check out Peter and his firm Creative Media
Check out Peter's LinkedIn bio here.
And send feedback to bizdev@creativemedia.biz.