Warner Music Group and AI music generator Suno have struck what they call a “first-of-its-kind partnership”.
They claim the deal will “open new frontiers in music creation, interaction, and discovery, while both compensating and protecting artists, songwriters, and the wider creative community”.
The deal also settles previous litigation between the companies.
The deal, according to a press release, “brings together Suno’s best-in-class AI capabilities with WMG’s artist development leadership and expertise at the intersection of music and technology”.
Artists and songwriters, according to the companies, “will have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music”.
In 2026, according to the press release, Suno will make “several changes to the platform, including launching new, more advanced and licensed models”.
The release added: “When the new models launch in 2026, the current models will be deprecated. Moving forward, downloading audio will require a paid account”.
Suno also says that it will introduce download restrictions in certain scenarios: “specifically, in the future, songs made on the free tier will not be downloadable and will instead be playable and shareable”.
Paid tier users will have limited monthly download caps with the ability to pay for more downloads, according to the company.
Suno has also acquired Songkick, the live music, concert-discovery platform, from Warner Music Group, and will continue to run it as “a successful fan destination”.
The press release continued that “the combination of Suno and Songkick will create new potential to deepen the artist-fan connection”.
WMG and Suno say they are “committed to forging a blueprint for a next-generation licensed AI music platform”.
Robert Kyncl, CEO, WMG said: “This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone.
“With Suno rapidly scaling, both in users and monetization, we’ve seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences.”
“This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone.”
Robert Kyncl, WMG
Added 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 for the use of their name, image, likeness, voice and compositions in new AI songs.”
“Our partnership with Warner Music unlocks a bigger, richer Suno experience for music lovers, and accelerates our mission to change the place of music in the world by making it more valuable to billions of people.”
Mikey Shulman, Suno
Mikey Shulman, CEO, Suno said: “Our partnership with Warner Music unlocks a bigger, richer Suno experience for music lovers, and accelerates our mission to change the place of music in the world by making it more valuable to billions of people.
“Together, we can enhance how music is made, consumed, experienced and shared. This means we’ll be rolling out new, more robust features for creation, opportunities to collaborate and interact with some of the most talented musicians in the world, all while continuing to build the biggest music ecosystem possible.”
Today’s news arrives just days after Suno closed a $250 million Series C round at a $2.45 billion post-money valuation.
The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Hallwood Media, Lightspeed, and Matrix.
WMG also settled its lawsuit with Udio last week and struck a licensing deal with the company for ‘next-generation’ AI music platform coming in 2026.
The Udio news arrived just an hour after WMG announced a new partnership with Stability AI on Wednesday (November 19), which the companies said will “advance the use of responsible AI in music creation”.
The settlements and licensing deals come just over a year after the RIAA, on behalf of all three major record companies, sued Udio and rival AI platform Suno for “mass infringement” of copyright.
Universal Music Group also settled with Udio last month, in addition to signing a deal for a licensed AI music platform set to launch in 2026.
Entities such as Denmark’s Koda and Germany’s GEMA, continue to pursue copyright claims against Suno.Music Business Worldwide
