Content Licensing Deals to Train AI Proliferate

As has been the case for earlier generations of conflicts between content owners (media firms, for example) and new types of firms (search, social media), conflicts over the training of large language models is being resolved in similar fashion: licensing deals. 

Microsoft, for example, recently signed a deal with News Corp.’s Harper Collins allowing “select non-fiction back titles”  to be used for training of artificial intelligence models, if individual authors agree. 

The content is said to be for a new model Microsoft is creating, but not intended to “write books.”  

Such deals have become more common as model owners work to defuse content owner objections to AI training using their copyrighted works. 

Content Owner	AI Company	Deal Details	Payments
News Corp	OpenAI	5-year deal for access to current and archived content from publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Times, etc. Includes display of content in response to user queries and sharing of journalistic expertise56	Over $250 million over 5 years56
Various Publishers	OpenAI	Annual licensing deals for training AI models, including companies like The Associated Press, Axel Springer, Prisa Media, Le Monde, and Financial Times56	$1 million to $5 million per year136
The Atlantic	OpenAI	Access to archives for AI model training and collaboration on product development, including an experimental microsite6	Not specified
Vox Media	OpenAI	Access to archives for AI model training and assistance in creating products for consumers and advertising partners6	Not specified
Hearst	OpenAI	Licensing deal for content use in training AI models2	Not specified
Mumsnet, The Center for Investigative Reporting	OpenAI	No deal; instead, these entities have initiated legal complaints against OpenAI2	-
Conde Nast, NBC News, IAC (People and Daily Beast owner)	Apple	Discussions for licensing content archives for AI training, but no public deals announced yet2	At least $50 million over a multiyear period (reported offer)3
Financial Times, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, Fortune	Prorata.ai	Licensing deal with revenue-sharing model; 50% of subscription revenue shared with content creators2	Revenue-sharing basis
Time, Der Spiegel, Fortune, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, Automattic (WordPress.com owner)	Perplexity	Revenue-sharing deal with access to analytics and technology for creating custom answer engines2	Revenue-sharing basis
Reddit	Google	Licensing deal for user-generated content to train AI models4	Not specified

source: Seeking Alpha 

Content Owner	AI/Search/Social Media Firm	Deal Details	Payments
News Corp	OpenAI	Access to current and archived content from publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Times, etc. for training AI models and displaying content in response to user queries. Includes sharing of journalistic expertise155	Over $250 million over 5 years
The Associated Press	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models and developing technology for news gathering45	$1 million to $5 million per year
Axel Springer	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models and developing technology for news gathering45	$1 million to $5 million per year
Prisa Media	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models and developing technology for news gathering5	$1 million to $5 million per year
Le Monde	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models and developing technology for news gathering5	$1 million to $5 million per year
Financial Times	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models and developing technology for news gathering15	$1 million to $5 million per year
Hearst	OpenAI	Licensing deal for training AI models1	$1 million to $5 million per year
Time, Der Spiegel, Fortune, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, Automattic (WordPress.com owner)	Perplexity	Revenue-sharing deal with access to analytics and technology to create custom answer engines. Revenue generated from sponsored related questions will be shared with publishers1	Revenue-sharing basis
Conde Nast, NBC News, IAC (People and Daily Beast owner)	Apple	Discussions for licensing content archives, but no public deals announced yet. Apple is offering more substantial remuneration for broader rights to use the content124	At least $50 million over a multiyear period (reported offer)
Reddit	Google	Licensing deal for user-generated content to train AI models3	Not specified
Mumsnet, The Center for Investigative Reporting	OpenAI	No deal yet. Instead, these entities have initiated legal complaints against OpenAI
The New York Times	OpenAI	No deal yet.  The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement