Record labels and Suno stall on licensing talks for AI-made music

In short: Talks between major record labels and Suno have stalled over how AI-generated songs should be licensed and shared.

What's going on

Universal Music and Sony have not reached licensing agreements with Suno, a start-up that lets people create songs in seconds by typing a short text prompt. People close to the talks said there has been little progress in recent months, and one person involved said there is “no path forward” under Suno’s current proposal.

The basic dispute is about control and distribution. Universal wants AI-made tracks to stay inside apps like Suno, instead of being freely downloaded and posted across the internet. Suno wants users to be able to share and distribute the songs more widely, more like how you can export a photo from an editing app and post it anywhere.

This is part of a wider fight across media about copyright, which is the legal right to control how creative work is used. Record labels argue that AI music tools learn from and rely on music made by human artists, and that AI companies should pay for that use. Suno says it wants to work cooperatively with the music industry and create new revenue for artists.

The dispute comes after major labels sued Suno and another AI music company, Udio, in June 2024 for copyright infringement. Licensing talks later opened as a possible way to settle. Warner Music struck a deal with Suno in November, but similar deals with Universal and Sony have not followed.

What to watch

Investors and artists are watching for whether labels and AI music companies can agree on rules that limit copying while still letting people use these tools. Universal has recently reached licensing deals with other AI groups, including Udio, which restricts downloading so songs stay inside the app.

Source: Financial Times