MBW Views is a series of op-eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say. The following op-ed comes from Ed Newton-Rex.
Udio in its current form will all but cease to exist.
This, I think, is the most important thing to understand about the settlement between Universal Music Group and Udio, which was announced today. Details of the settlement are scarce, but what we do know suggests that it is not only a win for Universal; it is a win for musicians everywhere.
To back up, last August the three major record labels sued Udio, along with Suno, for what they alleged was copyright infringement on an “almost unimaginable scale”. They presented compelling evidence that Udio and Suno had trained their models on their music, and they said they were seeking “an injunction and damages commensurate with the scope of Udio’s massive and ongoing infringement.”
Since then, tech bros have consistently assured us these lawsuits are a waste of time; that AI in the form it was unleashed on the world is inevitable; that we must, in their words, ‘adapt or die’. Just this week, in fact, the Chamber of Progress – a lobbying group representing some of the biggest AI companies in the world (including Suno) – wrote to President Trump asking him to issue an executive order instructing the Department of Justice to intervene in AI copyright lawsuits in favour of AI companies.
Today’s settlement shatters tech bros’ dream that AI companies’ unfettered use of copyrighted work would become business as usual. We now have two settlements in quick succession – the first being the $1.5 billion settlement in Bartz vs. Anthropic – that suggest that rights holders’ decision to bring legal action was a good one.
“This is what so many of us have been saying for so long: training must be paid for. Again, people in AI have shrugged off this idea, saying it’s unrealistic. Well, today’s settlement provides yet more evidence – as if any were needed – that it’s not.”
As part of the settlement with UMG, Billboard reports that the two companies will collaborate on a new product, which will let users customise the music of artists who have opted in, and – crucially – only share that music on the platform itself. Indeed, Udio has announced that downloads from its service have already been suspended – you can no longer download tracks generated on Udio and distribute them on streaming platforms.
This is hugely important. AI music generators that have been trained on real musicians’ music have been used to flood streaming platforms. Deezer recently reported that 28% of daily uploads are now AI-generated. Keeping this AI music within a walled garden will stop it unfairly competing on other platforms, protecting human musicians and making it more likely that people who don’t want to listen to AI music – people like me – don’t find it in our playlists against our will.
And the opt-in from artists is crucial. When Udio launched, they used the language many AI companies use – that they were using ‘publicly available’ music, that what they were doing was ‘transformative’. These arguments underpinned the ‘fair use’ defense they advanced when sued. But, now, artists will opt in to the new platform. And artists and songwriters will be paid not just when their music is the obvious basis of the output, but when their music is trained on in the first place.
This is what so many of us have been saying for so long: training must be paid for. Again, people in AI have shrugged off this idea, saying it’s unrealistic. Well, today’s settlement provides yet more evidence – as if any were needed – that it’s not.
This will be framed in press releases from the companies as a partnership, which of course it is. But be in no doubt: this is a huge win for Universal, and for the music industry as a whole. Udio will license training data; artists’ and songwriters’ permission will be sought; and generated music will be confined to the platform, rather than running rampant on the wider internet.
And it may be just the start. Sony and Warner have announced no such settlements with Udio, and all three majors are still suing Suno. Not to mention the two class action lawsuits from independent musicians that each of these AI music companies face.
In the face of the vast sums of investor money piling into AI and a political class that seems set on deregulating AI irrespective of the human cost, it can be tempting to give up. Today’s news is a beacon of hope – these lawsuits are worth it. Human creativity may yet be protected.
Music Business Worldwide
