Warner Music and Udio settle lawsuit, agree to build new AI music platform
CBC
Warner Music Group has settled their copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music generation platform Udio and announced a new agreement that will see the two companies work together on a new AI music platform.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the companies said Udio would develop a music “creation, listening, and discovery platform” that will launch in 2026, using generative AI trained on licensed and authorized music.
“Our new platform will enable experiences where fans can create alongside their favorite artists and make extraordinary music in an environment that offers artists control and connection,” said Udio’s co-founder and CEO Andrew Sanchez in a statement.
The new Udio platform will allow users to make new songs, remixes and covers using the work of artists who choose to participate. Those artists and songwriters will be compensated and credited, according to the release.
Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac, Dua Lipa and Zach Bryan are some of the artists represented by Warner.
Financial details of the settlement and agreement weren’t shared.
The deal is Udio’s second with a major music company — just last month, Universal Music Group announced a very similar agreement to settle their lawsuit with Udio, and partner on the new AI music platform.
It’s also just one in a handful of agreements signed between AI startups and major music companies in recent days.
On Thursday, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment all signed separate agreements with the startup Klay Vision.
Details about what Klay offers, and its deals with the companies, are sparse. According to Warner, the terms of their deal will help Klay “further evolve music experiences for fans, leveraging the potential of AI, while fully respecting the rights of artists, songwriters, and rightsholders,” the announcement said.
Warner also announced a third deal with Stability AI on Wednesday, to develop AI tools for songwriters, artists and producers.
The deal between Udio and Warner mirrors one signed between Udio and Universal Music Group last month.
On Oct. 29, the music group and the AI startup said they had settled a copyright infringement lawsuit and forged new licensing agreements for Udio to use authorized music on their AI music platform.
Until then, the Udio platform had allowed its users to download tracks generated through written prompts. But after the deal was inked, Udio stopped allowing its users to download their creations, which ignited backlash from users.
