A deal struck between Universal Music Group and AI music creation startup Udio marks a new chapter for a recording industry buffeted by the emergence of artificial intelligence.
“The new platform, which will be launched in 2026, will be powered by new cutting-edge generative AI technology that will be trained on authorized and licensed music,” the two companies said in a statement on Thursday.
As yet unnamed, the project will be a “new subscription service” that will allow users to “customize, stream and share music responsibly, on the Udio platform,” they added.
The statement did not go into detail about how the new platform will function.
But obvious questions the partners must resolve include whether artists will have to opt in to their music being licensed, how creators will be compensated or how music generated on the platform will be distributed.
Thursday’s deal is the first of its kind in the music industry, with heavyweight UMG — the industry leader with a roster of beloved stars like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd or Lady Gaga — granting valuable legal access to its catalogue.
UMG chief Lucian Grainge said the tie-up showed the way towards “a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies and technology companies can all flourish,”
“Together, we’re building the technological and business landscape that will fundamentally expand what’s possible in music creation and engagement,” Udio chief Andrew Sanchez said.
The two companies added that they had settled an outstanding copyright infringement case, without specifying the financial terms.
– Infringement allegations –
The agreement for legal licensing comes as artists, from authors to musicians and video game developers, fear being replaced altogether by AI models trained on decades of human-produced creative output.
Already, music streaming platforms report a rising flood of computer-generated songs.
AI firms from industry leader OpenAI to music specialists like Udio and competitor Suno have previously been accused by major record companies of using their songs to “train” artificial intelligence models which can produce music that apes human artists.
Rightsholders have demanded stricter limits on the AI developers’ activities, including transparency on what source material they have used and guarantees for their revenue.
“The world’s largest tech companies as well as AI-specific companies, such as OpenAI, Suno, and Udio, Mistral, etc. are engaged in the largest copyright infringement exercise that has been seen,” John Phelan, director general of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), told AFP last month.
And the Recording Industry Association of America, a US trade group, filed a lawsuit in June 2024 against both Udio and Suno.
For their part, AI firms often argue their work is covered by the American copyright loophole of “fair use”, which does not require rightsholders’ consent.
Broader talks between music companies and tech firms on how to license works for AI remain under way.
UMG said Thursday that it was also partnering with London-based startup Stability AI to develop new music creation tools.
And independent publisher Kobalt, licensing firm Merlin and AI company Eleven Music struck a deal of their own in August.
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