Warner Music Group (WMG) is embarking on an artificial intelligence (AI) music collaboration with the tech startup Suno, just one year after initiating a significant lawsuit against the company.
Under the terms of the settlement reached between WMG and Suno, Warner will enable users to generate AI music on Suno, incorporating the voices, names, and likenesses of artists who voluntarily participate in the initiative.
The record label, home to artists such as Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran, was one of several major music companies, including Sony Music, that filed lawsuits against Suno and a comparable platform named Udio.
The emergence of AI-generated content has sparked considerable debate, with numerous artists expressing worries that it might diminish the value and role of human songwriters.
As Warner announced in a statement, Suno plans to introduce new, enhanced, and licensed models to its generative AI music platform, which enables users to compose music from basic text prompts, beginning next year.
Established two years ago, the Massachusetts-based company currently serves approximately 100 million users.
According to Warner, Suno’s model slated for 2026 will supersede its current iteration and will necessitate payment for audio downloads, although tracks on the free tier will remain available for playback and sharing.
Warner described this “unprecedented partnership” as a move that will unlock “novel possibilities” in music production, simultaneously guaranteeing fair compensation for the creative community.
Warner affirmed that “Artists and songwriters will retain complete authority over if and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are utilized in new AI-generated music.” The company did not disclose which artists have chosen to participate in the program.
“This agreement also resolves prior legal disputes between the companies,” it further noted.
Suno, alongside Udio, another AI firm providing a similar platform, faced lawsuits from major music entities Warner, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group. The legal action was publicly declared in 2024 by the Recording Industry Association of America, which the BBC has reached out to for comments.
The record labels alleged that Udio and Suno were illicitly profiting by reproducing existing songs, asserting that their platforms generated tracks indistinguishable from those created by human artists.
These companies characterized the deployment of AI as “extensive theft” and identified it as a developing trend posing a threat to the entire music ecosystem.
This legal confrontation occurred merely months after approximately 200 artists, including notable figures like Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj, endorsed a letter advocating for an end to the “predatory” application of AI within the music sector.
Proponents of generative AI often liken machine learning processes to the human method of acquiring knowledge by engaging with prior creative works through reading, hearing, and seeing.