Suno, the AI music generator that\u2019s managed to both rankle the music industry and lure some of its biggest talent to its side, has added music company BMG as its latest licensing partner as it prepares new models powered by licensed work.<\/p>\n
The partnership will see Suno pay for BMG\u2019s repertoire of recordings from its artists, while also covering the use of any BMG songs to train Suno\u2019s past models. BMG joins Warner Music Group in settling with the music-generation company, which has been the target of a series of lawsuits alleging unauthorized use of audio recordings to train its data.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe the future of music will be more participatory, creating entirely new ways for artists and fans to connect,\u201d\u00a0Suno CEO and co-founder Mikey Shulman said in a statement. \u201cBuilding that future responsibly means working directly with the people who make music and the companies that\u00a0represent\u00a0them. Together with BMG, we can develop new experiences that give artists and songwriters real choice, generate new revenue, and make music a bigger part of people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Celine Joshua, BMG\u2019s executive vice president of global marketing and streaming, framed music\u2019s future as one where artists and songwriters \u201cshare in the value\u201d\u00a0platforms such as Suno may create.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoice is the guiding principle,\u201d\u00a0Joshua said. \u201cThis agreement\u00a0establishes\u00a0strong protections, clear economics, and new creative possibilities for artists and their fans. As we enter the era of creation, we look forward to shaping that future together with our creators and Suno.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The settlement marks BMG\u2019s most notable acceptance of AI\u2019s role in music since the generative era began. It sued Anthropic in California federal court earlier this year for allegedly using its copyrighted works, including songs by the likes of Bruno Mars and the Rolling Stones, to train its models in what it called a scheme of \u201cwidespread and systematic infringement.\u201d\u00a0The case, similar to one brought by other music publishers in 2023, is ongoing.<\/p>\n
BMG also joined a collection of other music labels and companies last month, including WMG, Universal Music Group and Sony Music, in proposing a new set of guidelines for how AI-generated music could chart on music tracking lists, specifying that only tracks that were \u201csubstantially human made\u201d\u00a0qualify for the industry\u2019s measure of success.<\/p>\n
The deal with BMG also gives Suno another layer of legitimacy as it prepares its new industry-backed models, which Suno said on Monday would come soon. Last week, Suno said it would begin watermarking songs downloaded from the platform to help signify the use of AI and limit song downloads for its three usage tiers to combat slop, efforts the company is taking to further legitimize its outputs among the music industry.<\/p>\n
Still, Suno is facing ongoing lawsuits from UMG and Sony Music for copyright infringement, and last month a German court\u00a0found\u00a0that the company was violating U.S. and German copyright laws.<\/p>\n