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- 📰Trace Lab Newsletter #15
📰Trace Lab Newsletter #15
(English version)
Nicolas Sainte Cluque
June 30, 2025
🌍 Welcome back Tracers!🌟
This month, the AI landscape is buzzing with moves that could reshape how we create and collaborate. Music giants are sitting down with AI startups to talk licensing instead of lawsuits. OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a full-blown productivity suite that might rival Google Workspace. On the video side, ByteDance’s new model just topped all benchmarks — and we’ll be testing it soon at Trace Studios — while Midjourney makes its first move into animation with a stylish image-to-video tool. You’ll also find a quick tutorial on turning research into infographics with Gemini, and our favorite tools of the week to help automate tasks, generate visuals, and simplify your production flows.
Let’s dive in!
And if you don’t want to read it, you can now listen to it! 🎧
👇
LATEST NEWS
Suno/Udio
🎵 Major Labels and AI Music Startups: From Courtrooms to Boardrooms
In a surprising turn, music industry titans are shifting from litigation to collaboration with AI music startups.
Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment are reportedly in talks with AI music generators Suno and Udio to establish licensing agreements. This move could redefine how artists are compensated in the age of AI-generated music.
Key Points:
The labels are seeking licensing fees and equity stakes in Suno and Udio, aiming to create a framework for compensating artists whose work is used in AI training.
In 2024, the labels filed lawsuits against both startups for copyright infringement, seeking up to $150,000 per infringed work, potentially totaling billions in damages.
The current negotiations are happening in parallel, creating a race between Suno and Udio to finalize deals first.
Proposed agreements may include fingerprinting and attribution technologies to track music usage, ensuring transparency and proper compensation.
Why it matters for Trace
This highlights how ethical frameworks in AI are becoming business models, not just legal headaches. For Trace, it signals the importance of proactively integrating rights management into any AI music workflows.
OpenAI
🧠 ChatGPT Steps into the Office Arena
OpenAI is transforming ChatGPT into a comprehensive productivity suite.
With new features like real-time collaboration, cloud integrations, and meeting transcription, ChatGPT is positioning itself as a formidable competitor to Google Workspace and Microsoft Office.
Real-time collaboration: ChatGPT now supports multi-user chat and shared document editing, enhancing team productivity.
Cloud integrations: Direct connectors to Google Drive, Dropbox, SharePoint, and more allow seamless access to documents within ChatGPT.
Meeting transcription: A new "record mode" enables recording and transcribing meetings, summarizing key points and action items.
Enterprise growth: ChatGPT boasts over 3 million paying business users, with enterprise subscriptions projected to generate $15B by 2030.
Why it matters for Trace
It’s time to think of ChatGPT not just as a chatbot, but as a workspace assistant. Imagine running pre-prod meetings, recording briefs, and syncing notes — all in one AI-native interface.
ByteDance
🎬 ByteDance's Seedance 1.0 Tops AI Video Generation Benchmarks
ByteDance has unveiled Seedance 1.0, a cutting-edge AI video generation model that outperforms competitors in both text-to-video and image-to-video tasks.
With its rapid generation speed and high-quality outputs, Seedance 1.0 is setting new standards in AI-driven video content creation.
Key Points:
Benchmark Leader: Outranks Google’s Veo 3 and OpenAI’s Sora on key video generation metrics.
Fast Generation: Produces 5-second, 1080p videos in ~41 seconds.
Multi-Shot Storytelling: Delivers visual consistency across scenes.
Ready for Integration: Set to roll out on ByteDance's platforms like Jimeng and Doubao.
Why it matters for Trace
We’re entering an era where AI-generated videos aren’t just fast — they’re cinematic. Imagine trailers, promos, or visual explainers crafted in minutes instead of weeks.
Even more exciting: through our partnership with ByteDance via Trace+, Trace Studios will soon test Seedance internally for potential integration into our production workflows. This could revolutionize how we create dynamic content at scale.
Midjourney
🎥 Midjourney also Enters the AI Video Arena with V1
Midjourney, renowned for its image generation, just launched its first video model.
V1 brings a creative twist by animating static images into short, stylized video clips — continuing Midjourney's distinctive artistic signature.
Key Points:
Image-to-Video Magic: Animate any Midjourney or external image into a 5s or 20s video.
Prompt Control: Choose camera movements and animation styles.
Signature Style: Retains the unique visual flair Midjourney is known for.
Affordable Access: Costs 8x image gen, but still 25x cheaper than competitors.
Why it matters for Trace
While it's early days for MJ in video, it unlocks new ways to create social content and experimental visuals with minimal effort — ideal for teasers, intros, or mood boards.
Training
🎓 Create Visual Infographics from Deep Research
Google Gemini now lets you turn complex research into clear, interactive infographics — in just a few clicks.
This tutorial shows you how to go from a research question to a beautifully visualized, shareable output using Gemini’s new Deep Research and Canvas features.
Here is how it works:
👉 Head to Google Gemini and scroll down to click "Deep Research".
🧠 Type your topic — Gemini will draft a research plan. You can edit it or click "Start Research" to dive in.
🎨 Once your report is ready, hit "Create" → "Infographic" to auto-generate a dynamic HTML visualization.
🔧 Switch between Code and Preview in Canvas to tweak the design and layout.
💡 Pro tip: The more specific your question (e.g. “Impact of AI on African content production since 2020”), the better and more tailored your infographic will be.
Why it matters for Trace
Infographics are a great way to share knowledge across teams, especially for presentations, editorial boards, or strategy sessions. With Gemini, anyone can go from research to visuals — no design skills needed.
NEW PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
GPTs and AI Tools Spotlight
🎨 Gemini (Image Generation): Use Google's Imagen 4 to generate or edit visuals fast — especially text-rich images.
🌀 Whisk (via Gemini): Animate and remix images using Imagen + V2 models, and explore prompt creations from other users.
📂 superfile.ai: Your Swiss army knife for files — compress PDFs, convert formats, extract color codes, and more.
📝 Riverside Transcription: Get 99% accurate transcripts in 100+ languages — perfect for audio/video interviews or podcasts.
🧪 Google AI Studio: Experiment with Gemini 2.5 Pro/Flash, build apps, generate images, and even engage in live audio dialogues.
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
Let’s keep exploring — together!
What you just read isn’t just news — it’s raw material. Tools to remix. Ideas to steal (ethically 😎).
Whether you’re in the studio, behind a lens, on the mic, or shaping tomorrow’s formats — AI is now part of the creative stack.
Use this drop as fuel. Build something weird. Break something old. Prototype that wild idea you’ve been sitting on.
And remember: Trace Lab’s got your back. Want to co-create a GPT? Rethink a workflow? Test a crazy feature in the wild? Let’s talk.
Next week, same time. New tools, new power moves.
👁️ Stay bold, stay playful, stay in beta.