Market
The New York Times sets three conditions for AI licensing, and says the market is still far from mature
Programmatic Spain reports that Adam Greenberg, vice president of strategic partnerships at The New York Times, described how the company approaches licensing deals with AI companies, speaking at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami. His overall assessment is that the content licensing ecosystem has improved in recent years but is still far from mature.
The Times asks for three things, according to the report. AI companies and tech platforms need an agreement or express authorization to use its content. The deal cannot be a one-off payment followed by no relationship. And the Times wants to keep a say over how and where its content is used. Greenberg says the Times' licensing partnership with Amazon meets those principles.
He also listed what is still unresolved in the marketplace: how content is used, how it is valued, how to avoid a fall in prices, where the content ends up, who owns the outputs and whether the revenue justifies the deal.
Our reading: the Times has the scale to set terms, and most publishers do not. The three conditions still travel well. Whoever asks to use your content or your inventory, an AI company or an ad platform, should answer three questions in writing: what exactly is authorized, what continues after the first payment, and who decides where it goes. A deal that cannot answer them is a one-off payment with another name.
Sources and reading
Programmatic Spain: Qué condiciones exige 'The New York Times' en sus acuerdos de licencias con empresas de IA