Suno and WMG Strike First-of-its-Kind Licensing Deal, Settle Legal Action

Warner Music Group (WMG) has become the first major label to ink a licensing deal with Suno, the major AI music creation company. This deal effectively closes WMG’s $500 million lawsuit against Suno for copyright infringement, and will see Suno acquire live music directory platform Songkick from WMG.

The details:

• WMG artists can follow an opt-in procedure for their music to be used by Suno.

• A press release from Suno reads that artists will have “full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music.”

• Suno will use music from artists who opt in to “build a new generation of Suno models using high-quality licensed music.”

• Suno will also deliver content from artists who opt in to create new revenue streams for said artists and foster greater connections between them and their fans.

• Suno will acquire the live music discovery platform Songkick from WMG with this new deal.

• The goal of the acquisition is to “deepen the artist-fan connection" by bringing together interactive music with live performance. No specific details were provided.

• Paid Suno accounts will now be required to download music made on Suno. Higher tiers get more monthly downloads.

• Free accounts can stream and share music.

Why it matters:

• This is the latest deal between a major label and a major AI company.

• WMG and Universal Music Group (UMG) both recently struck deals with Udio, another AI music creation company, and Suno’s main competitor.

• WMG and UMG were both involved in lawsuits against Udio and Suno. UMG remains in litigation with Suno.

What they said:

• Robert Kyncl, CEO, WMG: “This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone. With Suno rapidly scaling, both in users and monetization, we’ve seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences. AI becomes pro-artist when it adheres to our principles: committing to licensed models, reflecting the value of music on and off platform, and providing artists and songwriters with an opt-in for the use of their name, image, likeness, voice, and compositions in new AI songs.”

• Mikey Shulman, CEO, Suno: “Our partnership with Warner Music unlocks a bigger, richer Suno experience for music lovers, and accelerates our mission to change the place of music in the world by making it more valuable to billions of people. Together, we can enhance how music is made, consumed, experienced and shared. This means we’ll be rolling out new, more robust features for creation, opportunities to collaborate and interact with some of the most talented musicians in the world, all while continuing to build the biggest music ecosystem possible."