Amazon has entered into a landmark licensing agreement with the New York Times (NYT), agreeing to pay between $20 to $25 million annually for the use of the newspaper’s content in training its AI models. The multi-year deal, announced in May, grants Amazon access to the NYT’s core news coverage, as well as its cooking and sports platforms. This marks a first for both parties: it is the NYT’s first licensing deal focused specifically on AI, and Amazon’s first such agreement with a news publisher.
The agreement signifies a new revenue stream for publishers, allowing them to monetize their journalistic content directly via AI training rather than relying solely on traditional advertising or subscription models. While the sum represents only about 1% of the NYT’s annual revenue, the financial implications of the deal are significant, highlighting the growing intersection between media and artificial intelligence.
The agreement also comes amid growing legal tensions between publishers and AI developers. In December 2023, the NYT filed a high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI and its major investor Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement. The suit alleged that both companies used the newspaper’s articles without permission to train AI models such as ChatGPT, and that AI-generated summaries could bypass paywalls and reduce web traffic. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied the allegations, arguing their use of content qualifies as fair use and that their models do not copy articles verbatim but instead learn patterns to generate new text.
Other publishers have pursued similar partnerships. In 2024, Reuters licensed its articles to Meta Platforms, though the financial terms of that deal were not disclosed. These developments underscore a broader trend in the media industry, where traditional publishers are seeking to leverage their content for AI development while navigating complex legal and ethical challenges.
The collaboration between Amazon and the NYT raises questions about the future of journalism and the role of large language models in content creation. As AI models become more sophisticated, the implications for media ownership, editorial integrity, and reader trust are profound. The legal and financial negotiations surrounding these deals will likely shape the evolving landscape of digital media and content creation in the coming years.