Warner Music Group (WMG) has formed a strategic partnership with the artificial intelligence music platform Suno, resolving prior litigation between the companies and establishing a framework for licensed AI-generated music.
The agreement will see the companies collaborate on a platform that utilises licensed content, offering compensation and protection to artists and songwriters. WMG said the deal will provide creators with an “opt-in” mechanism for the use of their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions in new AI-generated songs.
The pact marks another significant shift in the music industry’s approach to generative AI, moving from legal confrontation to collaboration. It follows a similar settlement reached last month between Universal Music Group and AI firm Udio, which also agreed to launch a licensed platform following copyright disputes.
Major record labels, including WMG, Universal and Sony Music Group, had previously filed lawsuits against both Suno and Udio, alleging the startups trained their generative models on copyrighted music scraped from the internet without permission.
“This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone,” said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl. “AI becomes pro-artist when it adheres to our principles: committing to licensed models, reflecting the value of music on and off platform, and providing artists and songwriters with an opt-in.”
Operational changes
As part of the agreement, Suno will implement significant operational changes in 2026. The company plans to launch new, advanced models based on licensed content, at which point current models will be deprecated.
Furthermore, Suno will restrict audio downloads to paid accounts. Future songs created on the free tier will be playable and shareable but not downloadable, while paid tier users will have monthly download caps.
In a related move aimed at deepening artist-fan connections, Suno has acquired the live music and concert-discovery platform Songkick from WMG. Suno will continue to operate Songkick as a destination for live performance discovery while integrating interactive music features.
Suno CEO Mikey Shulman said the partnership will unlock a “bigger, richer Suno experience” and accelerate the company’s mission to make music creation accessible to billions of people.
“Together, we can enhance how music is made, consumed, experienced and shared,” Shulman said.
