Universal Music settles copyright dispute with AI firm Udio

By Rishabh Jaiswal (Reuters) -Universal Music Group said on Wednesday it has settled a copyright infringement case with artificial intelligence company Udio and that the two firms will collaborate on a new suite of creative products. Under the agreement, the companies will launch a platform next year that leverages generative AI trained on authorized and licensed music. UMG Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge said the agreements "demonstrate our commitment to do what's right by our artists and songwriters, whether that means embracing new technologies, developing new business models, diversifying revenue streams or beyond." Udio CEO Andrew Sanchez said the companies are "building the technological and business landscape that will fundamentally expand what's possible in music creation and engagement." In 2024, major record labels Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Records had sued Udio and another AI firm called Suno, accusing them of committing mass copyright infringement by using the labels' recordings to train music-generating AI systems.  The labels alleged that the AI companies copied hundreds of songs from some of the world's most popular musicians to teach their systems to create music that will "directly compete with, cheapen, and ultimately drown out" human artists. At the time, Suno and Udio argued that using copyrighted sound recordings to train their systems qualified as fair use under U.S. copyright law and described the lawsuits as attempts to stifle independent competition. The lawsuit is one of several high-stakes cases brought by copyright owners including authors, news outlets and visual artists against tech companies for allegedly using their work without permission to train AI. Sony and Warner's cases against Udio are still ongoing, as are all three labels' cases against Suno. UMG is the world's biggest music label, and its catalogue of artists also includes Taylor Swift, BTS, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga. (Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Michael Perry)

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