Universal Music and AI startup Udio have agreed to settle a copyright lawsuit and form a new partnership

Universal Music Group NV has settled its lawsuit with the AI music startup Udio after signing an agreement that includes both a legal settlement and a partnership. 

Under the terms of the deal, Udio will launch a paid platform for creating and streaming AI music next year. The platform will be trained on music from popular artists like Billie Eilish and others in Universal’s catalog. 

Universal and Udio have reached a settlement and partnership deal 

The new platform developed by Udio with support from Universal Music is an attempt by the music industry to collaborate with AI rather than work against it. 

Major labels are moving from fighting AI to collaborating with AI companies under conditions that protect copyright and guarantee payment to creators. It could also become the model for users to ethically create, customize, and share music while compensating the artists and songwriters. 

“These new agreements with Udio demonstrate our commitment to do what’s right by our artists and songwriters,” Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge said. He added that the partnership will “foster a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies, and technology companies can all flourish and create incredible experiences for fans.”

Universal, along with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, sued Udio and another AI startup, Suno, last year. The companies accused the startups of using massive amounts of copyrighted recordings to train their AI models without permission or payment. Unlike Udio, Suno has not yet announced a resolution. 

AI’s complicated relationship with music

Generative AI has rapidly transformed the way music can be created. With the technology, users can now produce songs from text prompts or mix existing sounds with AI, even without having any musical talent or experience. 

Universal and other major labels stated that the AI models of startups like Suno and Udio are a threat to the creative and financial rights of musicians. 

Under the new terms, Udio will operate “within a walled garden,” meaning its AI systems will be restricted to licensed data and content. The company will also add fingerprinting and filtering systems to prevent unauthorized use of music.

Udio’s current product will be modified to comply with the new rules and will stay online for creators until the new version is released next year.

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