Major Record Labels Negotiate Licensing Rights for AI Music

New York (EFE) – Major record companies Universal, Warner, and Sony have stepped up on behalf of the artists they represent and their own interests by holding individual negotiations over licensing rights related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) use of their music, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The New York-based newspaper, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that these companies are negotiating with AI music startups Suno and Udio because they want to be compensated when their artists’ music is used to train generative AI models and produce new music.

To determine how much they should be paid—both the artists and the companies—Universal, Warner, and Sony are requiring Suno and Udio to develop fingerprinting and attribution technology (similar to YouTube’s content identification system) to track when and how a song is used, the newspaper adds.

These record labels, which represent major stars such as Taylor Swift, Drake, Ariana Grande, Karol G, Britney Spears, and Shakira, also want a share in music-related products that these companies release, including having a voice in what products are developed and how they operate, according to the Wall Street Journal sources.

The article recalls that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit in June 2024 against these startups for copyright infringement. Suno stated at the time that its technology was creating new content, while Udio argued that its goal was to develop an understanding of musical ideas that belong to no one and that it uses filters to ensure that copyrighted works or artist voices are not reproduced.

According to the newspaper’s sources, a challenge for the record labels is how to reach commercial terms to license their catalogs at scale in a way that not only protects artists’ work but also gains broad support among musicians.