Universal Music Group announced Wednesday that it has settled a lawsuit accusing Udio of using copyrighted music to train AI and reached a licensing agreement with .
Millions of users use Udio’s AI to create music. This AI can compose original songs, including voices and instruments, from text prompts.
Udio has agreed with UMG to launch a new platform next year that will be trained only on “authorized and licensed music” and allow users to customize, stream and share music.
“These new agreements with Udio demonstrate our commitment to doing what’s right for artists and songwriters, whether it means embracing new technology, developing new business models or diversifying revenue streams,” UMG Chairman and CEO Lucien Grainge said in a statement.
Woodio declined to disclose the financial terms of the settlement and licensing agreement. UMG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the terms.
Artificial intelligence is posing challenges and challenges to the entertainment industry as AI startups train their models based on information on the internet, and entertainment companies claim that information on the internet infringes on their copyrighted works.
In the music industry, music companies have accused New York City-based Udio and other AI music startups of training them on copyrighted music to generate new songs based on popular hits without pay or permission.
Music businesses such as UMG, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group. In the lawsuit, Woodio was accused of using hits such as The Temptations’ “My Girl” to create a similar melody called “Sunshine Melody.” UMG owns the copyright to “My Girl”.
“A comparison of some of the audio-generated files to ‘My Girl’ reflects many similarities, including a very similar melody, the same chords, and very similar backing vocals,” according to the complaint. “These similarities are further reflected in the side-by-side transcription of the audio file and the score of the original recording.”
On its website, Udio stands behind its technology, saying its AI models learn by example, similar to how students study sheet music by listening to music.
“The goal of model training is to develop an understanding of musical ideas, which are the fundamental building blocks of musical expression that are not owned by anyone,” Udio said in a statement. “We have no interest in duplicating the content in the training set.”
On Wednesday, Udio CEO and co-founder Andrew Sanchez said he was excited about the opportunity to work with UMG to “redefine how AI empowers artists and fans.”
This collaboration is Udio’s first music licensing agreement with a major music label.
“This moment brings to life everything we’ve built to bring together AI and the music industry in a way that truly champions artists,” Sanchez said in a statement. “Together, we are building a technological and business environment that fundamentally expands the possibilities for creating and engaging with music.”
Udio said artists will be able to opt-in to the new platform and will be compensated, but did not provide details or the artists involved.
Launched in 2024, Udio was co-founded by former Google DeepMind employees. Udio’s backers include music artist Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram and chief product officer at Anthropic, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Appfigures, a New York-based mobile analytics company, estimates that Udio has had 128,000 app downloads since the launch of Apple’s App Store.
UMG also announced Thursday a partnership with London-based Stability AI to develop AI-powered music production tools for artists, producers and songwriters.
