UMG Settles With Udio, Partners With Stability AI
UMG Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge
Universal Music Group has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit with generative AI music platform Udio, paving the way to "an innovative new commercial music-creation, consumption and streaming experience" to be launched via subscription next year.
Per UMG, the deal is predicated on Udio's technology being trained on "authorized and licensed music," which will in turn provide new revenue streams for its artists and songwriters.
Until relaunch, Udio will remain online but will be fortified with new data-filtering and fingerprinting measures.
In a separate arrangement, UMG is forming an alliance with Stability AI to develop "music-creation tools powered by responsibly trained generative AI and built to support the creative process of artists, producers and songwriters."
On behalf of UMG, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Records, among others, the Recording Industry Association of America sued Udio and fellow AI company Suno in June 2024 over their unlicensed use of copyrighted recordings to train their generative AI models.
"These new agreements with Udio demonstrate our commitment to do what’s right by our artists and songwriters, whether that means embracing new technologies, developing new business models, diversifying revenue streams and beyond. We look forward to working with Andrew," said UMG Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, referring to Udio CEO Andrew Sanchez, who, he continued, "shares our belief that together, we can foster a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies and technology companies can all flourish and create incredible experiences for fans.”
“This moment brings to life everything we’ve been building toward—uniting AI and the music industry in a way that truly champions artists," said Sanchez, who elaborated on the partnership in a separate blog post. "Together, we’re building the technological and business landscape that will fundamentally expand what’s possible in music creation and engagement.”
UMG has been at the forefront of the AI revolution in music, having signed licensing deals with companies such as Endel, SoundLabs and BandLab; partnering with ProRata.ai to compensate content owners for AI-generated work; and ensuring AI protections for artists through new licensing deals with Meta and TikTok.