Warner Music Group has struck a licensing deal with the AI music creation platform Suno. Under the agreement, WMG will allow users to create AI-generated music on Suno using the voices, names, likenesses, images, and compositions of artists who opt in to the program.
WMG, which owns record labels that have signed musicians like Ed Sheeran, Twenty One Pilots, Dua Lipa, and Charli XCX, says participating artists will have “full control” over how their likeness and music are used, though it doesn’t share how.
“These will be new creation experiences from artists who do opt in, which will open up new revenue streams for them and allow you to interact with them in new ways,” Suno says, adding that users will be able to “build around” an artist’s sounds “and ensure they get compensated.”
WMG is also dropping out of a lawsuit it originally filed with Universal Music Group and Sony, alleging Suno illegally ripped their copyrighted works from YouTube. In recent weeks, major music labels have begun to embrace AI, as WMG similarly settled with AI music maker Udio earlier this month, while UMG ended its litigation against the platform in favor of a licensing agreement. The “ethical” AI music platform Klay has also struck deals with UMG, Sony, and WMG.
Along with the licensing agreement, Suno is planning to use licensed music from WMG to build next-gen music generation models that it claims will surpass its flagship v5 model. It will also start requiring users to have a paid account to download songs starting next year, with each tier providing a specific number of downloads each month.
