Universal Music Group settles with AI music startup Udio

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As a music fan, I’m really glad to hear that Universal Music Group and Udio have come to an agreement! It sounds like they were in a legal battle over Udio using copyrighted songs to teach its AI how to make music, but now they’ve worked things out with a licensing deal. It’s a positive step for both innovation and protecting the rights of artists.

As a total music and tech geek, I’ve been checking out Udio, and it’s seriously cool. Basically, millions of people are now making songs with their AI. You just type in what you want – lyrics, instruments, the whole vibe – and it creates an original song, complete with vocals and everything! It’s like having a band at your fingertips.

Udio and Universal Music Group have partnered to create a new music platform launching next year. This platform will allow users to personalize, stream, and share music created using only officially licensed tracks.

Universal Music Group’s chairman and CEO, Lucian Grainge, announced that the new agreements with Udio show the company’s dedication to supporting its artists and songwriters. This includes adapting to new technologies, exploring innovative business approaches, and finding new ways to generate income for them.

Udio wouldn’t share the details of the financial agreement or licensing terms. UMG hasn’t yet responded to questions about those terms.

Hollywood Inc.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced that major record labels are suing AI companies Suno and Udio, claiming they illegally used copyrighted songs.

As a big fan of movies and music, I’m really excited about what AI could bring to entertainment. But it’s also a bit worrying. A lot of these AI companies are building their technology by learning from existing movies, songs, and other creative works online, and honestly, it feels like they’re using our favorite content without permission. The entertainment companies are right to be concerned about copyright – they put a lot of work and money into creating things, and it’s not fair if AI just takes it all without contributing back.

Music companies are claiming that AI music startups like Udio, based in New York City, are using copyrighted songs to train their AI. This allows the AI to create new music that sounds similar to popular hits, but without getting permission from or paying the original artists and copyright holders.

Last year, major record labels including UMG, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group filed a lawsuit against Udio. They claimed Udio used popular songs, such as The Temptations’ “My Girl” (owned by UMG), to generate a strikingly similar tune called “Sunshine Melody.”

The lawsuit claims that a portion of a song created by Udio is strikingly similar to the song ‘My Girl.’ Specifically, it shares the same melody and chords, and features nearly identical backing vocals. Musical scores comparing the Udio song and the original recording further demonstrate these similarities.

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Udio explained in a statement that its technology is sound and works by learning from examples, much like a music student learns by listening and studying sheet music.

Udio explained that their aim in training their model is to learn the core concepts of music – the fundamental elements that anyone can use. They emphasized they don’t want to simply copy existing songs from their training data.

On Wednesday, Andrew Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of Udio, expressed his excitement about collaborating with Universal Music Group to explore how AI can benefit both artists and their fans.

This marks the first time Udio has partnered with a major record label to license music.

According to Sanchez, this launch represents the culmination of their efforts to combine AI with the music industry, with a strong focus on supporting artists. They believe they are creating both the technology and business models needed to significantly change how music is made and enjoyed.

I’m really intrigued by Udio – they’re letting artists join their platform and get paid for their work, which is fantastic! They’re keeping the details close to the vest right now, though – no word yet on exactly how the compensation will work or which artists are on board.

Udio, a new music platform that launched in 2024, was created by people who previously worked at Google DeepMind. It’s backed by several well-known names, including musician will.i.am, Mike Krieger (co-founder of Instagram and chief product officer at Anthropic), and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

I’ve been following Udio’s progress, and it’s amazing to see they’ve already been downloaded over 128,000 times on the App Store! That’s according to the data folks at Appfigures, a mobile analytics company based in New York, who have been tracking their numbers since launch.

Universal Music Group revealed a collaboration with Stability AI, a London company, on Thursday to build AI-powered tools that will help musicians, producers, and songwriters create music.

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2025-10-30 22:01