Microsoft has rolled out a new platform designed to let AI developers license premium content directly from publishers to train their models, under terms defined by the publishers themselves. Dubbed the Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), the content licensing hub is positioned as a new revenue stream for publishers while giving developers scalable access to high-quality training data to improve model performance, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday, February 3.
Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM) will also provide publishers with insights on training data usage to help them understand the value of such content and accordingly set prices as well as licensing terms. The platform will be voluntary and open to all types of publishers. Microsoft also emphasised that publishers will retain ownership of their content along with editorial independence.
Microsoft has introduced a new platform that allows AI developers to license premium content from publishers for model training, with publishers retaining control over the licensing terms.
The platform, called Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), is aimed at creating an additional revenue stream for publishers while providing developers with scalable access to high-quality training data to enhance AI model outputs, Microsoft said in a blog post on Tuesday, February 3.
Publishers like The New York Times have initiated copyright infringement lawsuits against technology firms like Microsoft and OpenAI. In India, members of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which includes The Indian Express and others, have launched a legal action against OpenAI for the 'unauthorized use of copyrighted content'.
Meanwhile, several leading publishers have signed high-value agreements with AI companies to license their content for training AI models.
“The open web was built on an implicit value exchange where publishers made content accessible, and distribution channels – like search – helped people find it. That model does not translate cleanly to an AI-first world, where answers are increasingly delivered in a conversation,” Microsoft said.
“At the same time, much of the authoritative content lives behind paywalls or within specialised archives. As the AI web grows, publishers need sustainable, transparent ways to govern how their premium content is used and to license it when it makes the most sense,” it added.
Microsoft said the PCM platform was developed in partnership with US-based publishers including Vox Media, The Associated Press, and Condé Nast, and that testing showed training Copilot on licensed premium content significantly improved response quality. The company added it plans to onboard more partners, including Yahoo, as the pilot continues.
Separately, in India, a government committee led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) last year proposed a licensing framework that would require AI companies to pay royalties to creators for using copyrighted content.
