The world’s largest music company Universal Music Group and the AI music creation platform Udio have just announced important strategic agreements. These agreements ended a copyright infringement lawsuit and paved the way for a new collaboration. According to the official announcement, the two parties agreed on a compensatory settlement and licenses for both recorded music and music publishing. This means additional revenue for artists and songwriters associated with UMG. Andrew Sanchez, co-founder and CEO of Udio, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration and emphasized that it brings AI and the music industry together in a way that supports artists.
Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG, underscored the company’s commitment to protecting artists and songwriters. According to him, these agreements will make it possible to embrace new technologies, create new business models, and expand revenue. UMG has previously entered into similar agreements with platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Meta, KDDI, KLAY Vision, BandLab, Soundlabs, and Pro-Rata. Now, together with Udio, it is continuing to pursue innovations that connect technology with rights holders.
What Will the New Music Creation Platform Offer?
The new platform, which they plan to launch in 2026, will be powered by advanced generative artificial intelligence trained on licensed music. It will operate as a subscription service where users will be able to edit, stream, and share music in a secure environment. Andrew Sanchez describes a vision in which fans listen to songs by their favorite bands and then remix them or combine the styles of different artists. For example, imagine taking the music of one band and blending it with another to create entirely new tracks.
The platform will function like a walled garden where creations cannot be downloaded or shared outside it. This is intended to prevent competition with original tracks on streaming services and ensure new revenue. Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vice president and chief digital officer, explains that users will only work with songs whose creators have given their consent. This will limit the available catalog, but UMG believes that artists will participate. Nash mentioned that initial discussions indicate some artists are interested in being part of the first wave.
Benefits for Artists and Fans
Artists who participate will gain control over how their music is used and receive a share of the revenue. In addition to royalties, they will receive data on how fans interact with their work. Andrew Sanchez gives an example: If a country singer is used for hip-hop tracks, it could inspire new directions. The Music Artists Coalition, a nonprofit organization founded by Irving Azoff that advocates for musicians’ interests, highlighted the need to answer questions such as how settlement revenue will be distributed, how profits will be shared, and how disputes involving songs with multiple creators will be resolved. Azoff emphasized that artists must have creative control, fair compensation, and clear information about the agreements.
For fans, this means deeper interaction with music. Michael Nash refers to research by Deezer showing that 30% of uploaded tracks are generated using AI but account for less than 0.5% of streams. Spotify has confirmed similar figures. Nash argues that people are not interested in low-quality AI content but want to work with existing songs. Research by Pex shows that 30 to 40% of music content on social media is already being modified—sped up, slowed down, or mixed. According to him, this confirms the interest in interaction.
Comparison with Competitors
Udio has a smaller reach than its rival Suno—according to SimilarWeb, Suno had 43.8 million visitors in September compared with Udio’s 2.3 million. Nash claims that Udio has focused on negotiations with UMG rather than growth in recent months and that its technology is equally powerful. Suno still faces lawsuits from UMG and other record labels. During the transition, Udio’s existing service will remain available, but with restrictions such as fingerprinting, filtering, and other measures. Starting November 3, 2025, downloading of older creations will be reopened for 48 hours.
Nash says that UMG is carefully selecting which part of its catalog it will provide for model training. It is focusing on content for which it holds the rights. A UMG source confirmed that the company does not plan to provide its entire catalog and that a thorough approval process is underway. Udio, backed by investors such as a16z, Redpoint, will.i.am, Steve Stoute, and Kevin Wall, is focused on strengthening connections between artists and fans through creation.
Source: rollingstone.com
