The National Music Publishers’ Association Inks Comprehensive Licensing Deal With Udio

This past Wednesday (June 10), the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), a trade organization representing the US music publishing business, announced an industry-wide licensing deal with Udio, the major AI music company. NMPA also made a similar deal with KLAY, another AI music platform.

What they said:

• NMPA President and CEO, David Israelite: “Today, we are announcing the first-ever industry-wide licensing deal with a major AI music company. Songs are just as important, if not more, than sound recordings when it comes to AI training. [Udio] allows people to reimagine music using the distinct styles of songwriters and artists. To do this, Udio accepted that it needs permission from publishers and labels, and they’ve come to the table to bring creators in as business partners. As it should be.”

• Israelite on KLAY: “[KLAY] reimagines listening with immersive, interactive tools powered by their large music model, trained entirely on licensed music. What is special about KLAY is that it is securing licenses before launching its platform. We all know how rare that is in our business, where too often people ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

The deal with Udio:

• NMPA is offering members in good standing a chance to review and join the deal beginning Monday, June 15.

• This is similar to the opt-in culture that AI companies have presented for rightsholders to protect their works from unfair use.

• The exact specifics of the deal were not shared.

The deal with KLAY:

• A similar window to join KLAY for NMPA members will open before the deal takes effect “later this summer.”

• KLAY signed previous deals with all three major labels and their associated publishers.