Sam Altman says OpenAI is planning two Sora changes for rightsholders: granular controls over generation of their characters and a revenue sharing system

We have been learning quickly from how people are using Sora and taking feedback from users, rightsholders, and other interested groups.

Sam Altman 2025-10-04

Context & Ripple Effects

OpenAI's Sora outreach to film studios and media executives has been underway since early partnership discussions with Hollywood, with later reporting highlighting studios' concerns about the product's creative and commercial implications. The new commitments move that dialogue from prospective collaboration toward product-level rights management.

The announcement also follows reports that Sora could generate copyrighted material unless owners opted out, putting opt-out mechanics at the center of studio negotiations. Granular character controls and revenue sharing address distinct parts of that tension: permission and compensation.

First-order effects

Rightsholders are set to receive more specific control over whether their characters can be generated in Sora, rather than relying solely on broad participation or opt-out choices.
OpenAI will need to define an operating model for allocating Sora-related revenue to rightsholders; the announcement does not specify eligibility, pricing, or payout terms.

Second-order effects

Studios, talent agencies, and other IP owners gain a clearer basis for negotiating Sora participation, potentially making rights clearance a product and commercial process rather than a purely legal dispute.
Sora's monetization model becomes more consequential for rights deals: its later sale of additional generation credits creates a visible usage-revenue stream that could be relevant to any sharing system.

Third-order effects

If implemented broadly, the approach could shift generative-video competition toward licensed IP catalogs with embedded controls, making rights-management tooling a core platform capability.
The model tests whether generative-media platforms can turn disputed character use into a repeatable licensing market; its durability will depend on how reliably controls and compensation work for owners and users.

The trend: Generative-media platforms are moving from open-ended creation toward commercial systems that pair creator access with enforceable IP controls and revenue participation.

Discussion

@ednewtonrex Ed Newton-Rex on x
I increasingly think OpenAI is trying to destroy the concept of copyright through desensitization. Copyright is a huge threat to their profits. They are facing multiple massive copyright lawsuits. So they release Sora, knowing it can output copyrighted IP and knowing people
@rachidakiki @rachidakiki on x
Would you let an AI version of you go viral? People are rushing to join Sora, the new app that makes ultra-realistic videos of your digital twin doing wild stunts, surfing with sharks, flying off cliffs, or even “caught on CCTV.” It's like TikTok meets dreams (and nightmares).
@pixiekate13 Kate Irwin on x
Sora 2 is literally churning out eps of Rick & Morty and South Park and celebrity deepfake videos and they are celebrating it. This ends in 1 of 3 ways: -AI companies waste unfathomable sums to alter US copyright laws in their favor (and cook many industries in the process)
@jeiting Jacob Eiting on x
Sora is reminding us once again that the best thing about the internet was always copyright infringement
@ednewtonrex Ed Newton-Rex on x
OpenAI shouldn't be able to exploit people's copyright and then offer them a revenue share like it's some sort of gracious offer. Some will take it, because it's easier than suing a $500B company. But most would never have agreed to this before Sora launched. They would have [ima…
@robertfreundlaw Rob Freund on x
My guess is those rightsholders that OpenAI has heard from are “very excited” in the way that gets conveyed via demand letter. Bet on this entire post becoming an exhibit. I am eager to see how they plan to implement opt-in for this. Hey, we obviously didn't do any sort of [image…
@brianstelter Brian Stelter on x
Altman says “we are going to have to somehow make money for video generation” and “we are going to try sharing some of this revenue with rightsholders who want their characters generated by users.”
@gabor Gabor Cselle on x
“Please expect a very high rate of change from us; it reminds me of the early days of ChatGPT.”
@_simonsmith Simon Smith on x
From this update, I expect: - Much more restricted output of copyrighted characters. Already seeing this. - Conversely, likely some of those characters as cameos, with rights holders able to control how they get used, making them officially blessed. - Lower caps on
@_juliettech @_juliettech on x
watch “sora” become a verb
@drbarnard David Barnard on x
My son Luke's take: On Twitter you get paid to post memes. On Sora you pay to post memes.
@manosaie @manosaie on x
Just say ads [image]
@vinnysgreen Vinny Green on x
This is a fucking admission. It's a criminal enterprise running a content arbitrage scheme. @AGRobBonta can't you see?! Do you have eyes?!
@natejhake Nate Hake on x
Altman implies OpenAI wants to share Sora AI video revenue with rightsholders Steal first, negotiate later seems to be the idea
@theaustinlyons Austin Lyons on x
As a counterargument, a lot of Sora videos ARE shared but to existing platforms (X, WhatsApp, iMessage, etc) where OpenAI isn't in the loop for measurement. That said, yes a ton of compute wasted for small audiences still. Must be funny for YouTube to watch OAI work through the […
@andrewcurran_ Andrew Curran on x
Two Sora updates: - they are giving copyright holders ‘more granular control’ over generations - they are going to try revenue sharing with rightsholders who opt-in. ‘The exact model will take some trial and error to figure out, but we plan to start very soon.’ [image]
@hhua_ Han on x
Probably the most interesting business model innovation problem at this moment “We are going to try sharing some of this revenue with rightsholders who want their characters generated by users. The exact model will take some trial and error to figure out, but we plan to start
@jasonkneen Jason Kneen on x
As predicted for end of this year. This is the start of on demand generative streaming services with a) license holder support and b) shared revenue generation. Next will come pay to play so revenue can be shared to license owner / service / creator, the latter being the [image]
@vidythatte @vidythatte on x
This is pretty wild. AI video has created an entirely new channel where character IP can be monetized. Using an AI character to make a video / watching that video could be similar to streaming music on Spotify. 🤔 [image]
@gavinpurcell Gavin Purcell on x
Two big Sora 2 changes already: rights holders get more granular control over what their content can be used for paid model coming soon + payouts to rights holders for use of IP [image]
@koltregaskes @koltregaskes on x
Sora 2's first update adds granular rightsholder controls for character generations and revenue sharing from user-created videos featuring those characters. Based on feedback from users and rightsholders, especially Japan's anime sector, changes enable opt-outs and permissions [i…
@rahll Reid Southen on x
If your copyright is contingent on opting it out from anyone who randomly decides they're going to use your work for profit, it becomes effectively worthless. There's a reason it doesn't work that way. No one else is allowed to do this, why are AI companies the exception? [image]
@matdryhurst Mat Dryhurst on x
An opt-out coupled with granular control over your representation in models We were way too early
@hernanlopez Hernan Lopez on x
That was fast! Credit to OpenAI's Sora for reversing their position on copyrights quickly, giving copyright holders an opt-in
@keytryer @keytryer on x
Going to be ultra candid here, I think that OpenAI has perfected the art of pushing massive societal change and using that to their advantage. I happen to think this one is cool, but there was a plan to all this. [image]
@billpeeb Bill Peebles on x
very excited to partner closely with rightsholders to find new ways to bring their characters to life through sora!
@teknium1 @teknium1 on x
@sama Bye anime it was nice knowing you
@minimaxir Max Woolf on x
Sam Altman says Sora 2 has to make money but there is no revenue model that can feasibly offset a $4-5 compute cost per video.
@attack Kevin Pereira on x
The great nerf-ening is nigh! • #Sora2 is getting expensive. • Protected IP will harder to squeeze from it. Both bullets expected. I hope the “lil' guys” are afforded the same protective tools as everyone... In the meantime, I spent ~40 minutes to make a promo. Wheee! 🔗👇 [image]
@justinsunyt Justin on x
say goodbye to anime on sora [image]
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
GPUs are not cheap! “Second, we are going to have to somehow make money for video generation. People are generating much more than we expected per user, and a lot of videos are being generated for very small audiences” [image]
@benjamindekr Benjamin De Kraker on x
“we are going to have to somehow make money for video generation” hahahahahahaha I'm sorry but publicly admitting that the business model is “we'll have to make money somehow” is just silly. This didn't come up as an issue before launch? Come on. [image]
@minimaxir Max Woolf on x
How did “Sora 2 is too expensive” surprise OpenAI? They imposed no meaningful generation limits and and “very small audiences” is literally the point of an invite-only program. [image]
@theo @theo on x
Two key points: 1. They are working with rightsholders about the use of their characters 2. They need to make money somehow (and plan to share profit with rightsholders)
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
@sama RIP Spongebob body cam videos. We hardly knew ye.
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
This is very expensive. AND we are all cooked on the price of storage going up.. [image]
@paultassi Paul Tassi on x
Nintendo called [image]
@edzitron.com Ed Zitron on bluesky
lol how many lawyers did he hear from [embedded post]
r/OpenAI r on reddit
Sam Altman roping in copyright holders and closing Sora product loop like a champ
r/aiwars r on reddit
Suddenly copyright holders find their properties appearing in OpenAI Sora 2 Cameo a hefty opportunity to collaborate - to the dismay of anti AI folks
@vraserx @vraserx on x
OpenAI has quietly started tightening the guardrails in Sora. You can't generate videos of celebrities like Michael Jackson anymore, looks like the managers and estates of those stars have officially opted out. The wild west era of AI-generated celebrity clips might be ending [vi…
@ednewtonrex Ed Newton-Rex on x
Even if OpenAI now tightens Sora's guardrails, the damage has been done. They will have used people's copyrighted IP and likenesses to go viral, getting them to number 1 in the app store, which will let them make a ton of money. This is why after-the-fact opt-out is so
@drewharwell Drew Harwell on x
I tested Sora's AI video “guardrails” and I'm honestly shocked how much OpenAI allows. Really, really bad [video]
@wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
sora would be a lot more fun if it didn't have such strict guardrails [image]
@thdxr Dax on x
my first attempt at using sora was immediately rejected for “potentially racy content”
@theo @theo on x
My life is a prison and only Sam can free me [image]
@mrdavids1 Travis Davids on x
Sora 2 right now in my opinion is better than Veo 3 BUT it needs to loosen the guardrails on uploading custom images so we can tell consistent stories. However, Veo 4 can completely blow it away. The way Sora 2 generates audio and understands context is actually mindblowing. I
@stillgray Ian Miles Cheong on x
Sora 2, as powerful as it is, will never receive widespread use because of the guardrails. It will not be Vine or a replacement for Vine. 🌱 You can't upload images of people or characters in them, and you can't ask it to reproduce visuals of any person. Not even political [video]
@chriscamillo Chris Camillo on x
However big you think this is, it's bigger. [image]
@kimmonismus @kimmonismus on x
To be fair, I did not see that coming [image]
@coffeebreak_yt Coffeezilla on x
“collective creativity of humanity” = other people's copyrighted works, being recycled into OpenAI's slop machine.
@gabrielpeterss4 Gabriel on x
we are number one on app store!!! [image]
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
seems like Meta rushed out its AI video app, Vibes, to beat OpenAI and i think that shows just from a pure product standpoint, Vibes is not as slickly designed as Sora (Sora being a carbon copy of TikTok probably helped, but meta never shies away from copying)
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
i think OpenAI dealing with IP fallout later is going to have knock-on effects across the rest of the industry just as the release of ChatGPT forced every other bigtech company to throw caution to the wind, my guess they'll all stop pretending to care about copyright now
@adonis_singh Adi on x
this is truly incredible considering it's paid needs invite codes much slower than image/text gen
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
that said, Meta did not go as brazen with copyright blitzkrieg as OpenAI did, and i would guess for a number of reasons (bigger company, probably some FTC restrictions from past settlements), so they were hamstrung on implementing what are some of Sora's biggest features
@gabeeegoooh Gabriel Goh on x
i did not contribute much to sora 2 - but I had the pleasure of witnessing it's development. the level of care, attention and love put into a single model and a single product was amazing to witness. i've always believed deep learning rewards care, but I am now convinced the
@drbarnard David Barnard on x
One thing to keep in mind is that as an app climbs into the top 10 on the App Store it becomes harder and harder to estimate downloads (even for @appfigures, who generally have the best data in the business). Once an app hits #1 it's impossible.
@deryatr_ Derya Unutmaz on x
Well done and well deserved, @OpenAI! The Sora app is just fantastic!
@gabrielpeterss4 Gabriel on x
absolutely incredible, no marketing, nothing in chatgpt, and still in beta and using invite codes
@billpeeb Bill Peebles on x
sora is number 1 in the app store! it's been epic to see what the collective creativity of humanity is capable of so far. team is iterating fast and listening to feedback. feel free to drop us feature requests! (we're sending more invite codes soon, i promise!) [image]
@hernanlopez Hernan Lopez on x
@OpenAI's Sora is #1 on the App Store despite being invitation-only. Think TikTok for AI video. The timing is no accident. ChatGPT hit 85M mobile MAUs in the US (the total number, including desktop and global, is much larger). But they can't monetize free users: no ads, no [image…
r/artificial r on reddit
Kiss reality goodbye: AI-generated social media has arrived

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