AI start-ups snap up creators’ unreleased videos

YouTube creators and other content makers are selling unreleased footage to AI start-ups to train models, often earning thousands of dollars per deal, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

OpenAI, Google, Moonvalley and several other companies are paying hundreds of creators for access to exclusive videos. Unpublished content is prized for its uniqueness.

Firms pay from $1 to $4 per minute of footage, with rates rising with quality and format. Clips in 4K and unconventional shots — such as drone footage or 3D animation — command higher prices.

In 2024 OpenAI, Meta, Adobe and Google released video generators capable of producing realistic clips from prompts. Training them requires vast amounts of content.

“This is an arms race, and they all need more footage. Over the next couple of years I see a window in which licensing video footage will be profitable for creators ready for this. But I do not think it will last long,” said Dan Levitt, senior vice-president for creator relations at Wasserman.

Some creators shoot hundreds of hours of video each year, most of which never sees the light of day. Selling content to AI start-ups helps diversify their income.

Most deals include a clause barring companies from creating digital replicas of the authors or using the material in ways that could affect their reputation.

In January, Elon Musk called synthetic data the next stage in AI development.