Warner Music signs deal with AI music startup Suno, settles lawsuit
Warner Music Group (WMG) announced on Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Suno, settling its copyright lawsuit against the AI music startup. WMG said in a press release that the deal with Suno will “open new frontiers in music creation, interaction, and discovery, while both compensating and protecting artists, songwriters, and the wider creative community.”
WMG also announced that it has sold Songkick, a live music and concert-discovery platform, to Suno for an undisclosed amount. WMG had acquired Songkick’s app and brand in 2017, while Live Nation later acquired Songkick’s ticketing business.
WMG says Songkick will continue as a fan destination under Suno.
As a result of WMG’s partnership, Suno will launch more advanced and licensed models that will replace its current ones next year. Downloading audio from the service will require a paid account, while users on the free tier will be limited to playing and sharing songs made on the platform.
WMG’s artists and songwriters will also have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music.
Artists signed to WMG include Lady Gaga, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Sabrina Carpenter, and more.
“This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone,” said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl in the press release. “With Suno rapidly scaling, both in users and monetization, we’ve seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences.”
The news comes a week after WMG settled its copyright lawsuit with AI music startup Udio and entered into a licensing deal for an AI music creation service that’s set to launch in 2026.
WMG’s settlements with Suno and Udio mark a significant shift in the music industry’s approach to AI. Last year, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. While WMG has settled its lawsuits with Suno and Udio, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are also reportedly in talks to license their work to Udio and Suno and settle their lawsuits against the startups.
In a sign of investor confidence in AI music technology, Suno announced last week that it raised a $250 million Series C round at a $2.45 billion post-money valuation. The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures, as well as Hallwood Media, Lightspeed, and Matrix.
Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.
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