policy change

USA Boxing Allows Transgender Fighters To Face Opponents Who Match Their Gender Identity

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In a landmark decision, USA Boxing has announced that transgender fighters will be allowed to fight in sanctioned bouts with opponents matching their gender identity. The policy will take effect on January 1, 2024. Fighters must be over the age of 18 and have medically transitioned. Furthermore, they must be able to provide proof of quarterly hormone testing over the last four years. Violation of the policy will carry a one-year suspension for the fighter. No fights under this new policy have been announced at the time of writing. Founded in 1989, USA Boxing is the national governing board of Olympic-style boxing in the United States.

The decision of USA Boxing marks a break from the international boxing community’s consensus approach to transgender fighters. This is best summarized by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, whose organization has sought to establish an entirely separate set of weight divisions for transgender athletes. The ruling has seen significant backlash from anti-trans activists and a number of high-profile boxers, such as former IBF champion Ebanie Bridges. Several cisgender male boxers have also criticized the policy.

Read More: Brittney Griner Defends Inclusion Of Trans Athletes

Ohio Governor Vetoes Ban On Transgender Athletes

The announcement of USA Boxing’s news policy is just the latest major transgender-related policy move. It comes days after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed a statewide ban on transgender minors competing in sporting activities that did not match their gender identity. While the Republican-controlled state legislature has enough votes for a veto override, Ohio has seen plenty of conflict within its Republican delegation. Furthermore, the bans will be challenged by federal protections passed by the Biden administration that will be enacted in 2024.

Furthermore, announcing his decision, DeWine stated that he did not believe that the bill was beneficial. DeWine said that the number of people affected by the bill would be small. However, he noted that for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound. Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life.” Ohio becomes one of the few holdouts in the US. More than 2020 states have enacted similar bills over the last two years.

Read More: MrBeast Calls Out Transphobia Aimed At Friend

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Spotify To Remove Royalties From Majority Of Music On The Platform: Report

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Spotify is facing major backlash against a policy change that will eliminate royalties from a majority of its musical catalog. According to a report from Music Business Worldwide, Spotify is raising the threshold that needs to be reached before artists can earn royalties on their music. Songs will now have to reach around 200 annual streams before Spotify will pay the artist. If that threshold isn’t reached, any money the artist would have earned will be diverted back into Spotify’s general revenue pool. Essentially, bigger artists would earn the money created by smaller indie artists. Furthermore, while 200 streams a year doesn’t sound like a lot, MBW explained that the figure is a lofty goal for many small, independent artists. Furthermore, when multiplied across the low-play songs on the platform, Spotify is saving tens of millions dollars a year.

Spotify argues that the change will be negligible. The company argued small creators often don’t see the revenue regardless. However, it is a widely hated change. Some have gone as far as to call it a reverse Robin Hood scenario. In essence, Spotify is taking from smaller artists to pay bigger ones. “Right now, streams and revenue are effectively synonymous, but by this time next year, they will mean very different things. [Smaller artists] will be othered, their revenue becoming a new black box for the biggest artists to share between themselves,” theorized industry analyst Mark Mulligan. Spotify said in a statement that nothing had been finalized yet.

Read More: Latto And Jung Kook’s “Seven” Is Now The Quickest Song To Eclipse One Billion Streams On Spotify

Spotify’s Full 2024 Changes

While the royalties was the biggest and most controversial change, it wasn’t the only thing that Spotify proposed changing next year, citing two other potential changes. The first is a widely welcomed change, bringing fines to distributors who enable fraudulent activity on tracks they own and distribute. Streaming fraud, be it through bots, click farms, imposter tracks, or ghost artists, has become a widespread issue. A crackdown on the practices that enable the fraud is seen as long overdue by the industry.

Elsewhere, Spotify also plans to crack down on royalties for “noise tracks”, i.e. such as background noise like rain or white noise. Currently, Spotify grants royalties on playtime over 30 seconds on these tracks. However, this has led to a spate of creators releasing full albums comprised of 31-second tracks to maximize their revenue. The new change will raise the minimum playtime from 30 seconds to an unspecified number.

Read More: Drake Becomes The First Rapper To Hit 80 Million Spotify Listeners

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