Universal Music Group (UMG) announced on Thursday that it had signed a licensing agreement with AI music generation startup Udio — an industry-first collaboration aimed at launching an artificial intelligence music creation platform next year.
In a joint statement, UMG and Udio said the new platform, which is yet to be named, “will be powered by cutting-edge generative AI technology trained exclusively on authorised and licensed music.”
They also confirmed that both parties had settled an outstanding copyright infringement case, though the financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement comes amid growing concerns among artists, writers, and developers about being replaced by AI systems trained on decades of human-created works. Music streaming services have also reported an increasing number of AI-generated tracks appearing on their platforms.
AI developers — from major players such as OpenAI to music-focused firms like Udio and its rival Suno — have previously faced accusations from record companies of using copyrighted songs to train models capable of replicating the styles of human musicians.
Rights holders have since called for stricter controls on AI activity, including full transparency over training data and guarantees for fair compensation.
John Phelan, head of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), recently told AFP that some startups were “engaged in the largest copyright infringement exercise ever seen.” Similarly, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit in June 2024 against both Udio and Suno.
However, UMG Chief Executive Lucian Grainge described Thursday’s partnership as a positive step towards “a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies, and technology firms can all flourish.”
Meanwhile, broader negotiations between the music industry and technology companies over AI licensing frameworks are still ongoing.