Warner Music Group (WMG) was announced on Tuesday with which he reached an agreement Suno, settlement of copyright lawsuit against AI music startup. WMG said in a press release that the agreement with Suno “will open new frontiers in music creation, interaction and discovery, while simultaneously indemnifying and protecting artists, songwriters and the wider creative community”.
WMG also announced that it has sold Songkicka live music and concert-discovery platform, to Suno for an undisclosed sum. WMG had acquired the Songkick app and brand in 2017, while Live Nation later acquired Songkick’s ticketing business.
WMG says Songkick will continue as a fan destination under Suno.
As a result of the WMG partnership, Suno will release more advanced and licensed models to replace its current ones next year. Downloading audio from the service requires a paid account, while users on the free tier will be limited to playing and sharing songs created on the platform.
WMG artists and songwriters will also have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices and compositions are used in new AI-generated music.
Artists signed to WMG include Lady Gaga, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Sabrina Carpenter and more.
“This landmark agreement with Suno is a win for the creative community that benefits everyone,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said in the press release. “With Suno scaling rapidly, both in users and monetization, we seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences.”
The news comes a week after WMG settled its copyright lawsuit with AI music startup Udio and struck a licensing deal for an AI music creation service due to launch in 2026.
WMG’s settlements with Suno and Udio mark a significant shift in the music industry’s approach to artificial intelligence. Last year, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. While WMG has settled its lawsuits with Suno and Udio, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are also in talks to license their work to Udio and Suno and settle their lawsuits against the startups.
In a sign of investor confidence in AI music technology, Suno announced last week that it had raised a $250 million Series C round at a post-money valuation of $2.45 billion. The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures, as well as Hallwood Media, Lightspeed and Matrix.
