Universal Music and Warner Music are weeks away from striking groundbreaking licensing deals with tech giants and AI startups that could reshape how the music industry monetizes artificial intelligence. The agreements would establish the first major framework for compensating labels when their catalogs are used to train AI models or generate new music, potentially ending months of legal battles.
The music industry is about to get its first major AI licensing framework. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, whose catalogs include megastars like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Charli XCX, are reportedly within weeks of closing deals that could redefine how AI companies use copyrighted music.
The negotiations involve some of the biggest names in tech. Google and Spotify are at the table alongside a mix of AI startups including voice synthesis company ElevenLabs, image generator Stability AI, and Klay Vision, according to Financial Times reporting.
What makes this particularly interesting is the elephant in the room - some of the companies in talks are the same ones currently being sued by the labels. Music generation platforms Suno and Udio are actively fighting copyright lawsuits filed by Universal, Warner, and Sony Music earlier this year.
The labels are pushing for what sounds like a streaming-inspired payment model. Instead of one-time licensing fees, they want micropayments every time their music gets used - whether that's for training an AI model or generating new content. Think of it like Spotify royalties, but for AI.
This approach makes sense from the labels' perspective, but it creates a massive technical challenge. AI companies would need to develop sophisticated tracking systems to monitor exactly when and how copyrighted music influences their models. That's no small feat when you're dealing with neural networks trained on millions of songs.
The timing couldn't be more critical. AI music generation has exploded over the past year, with tools like Suno and Udio allowing anyone to create professional-sounding tracks from simple text prompts. But this growth happened in a legal gray area, with many AI companies training their models on copyrighted music without explicit permission.
The labels haven't been sitting idle. The Recording Industry Association of America filed major lawsuits against Suno and Udio in June, alleging massive copyright infringement. The suits claim these companies used tens of thousands of copyrighted recordings without permission to train their AI models.
