Major labels negotiate with AI companies on the use of songs

The music companies Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are seeking an agreement with the two start-ups Suno and Udio. They are negotiating a model for the use of music tracks to train generative artificial intelligence (AI). This was reported by the US business news agency Bloomberg.

The three major record labels want license fees from Suno and Udio for the use of copyrighted music. In addition, the three would each like to acquire a stake in the two companies, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with insider knowledge of the talks.

Suno and Udio used generative AI to generate pieces of music. The AI generates a song according to the composer's specifications, such as a Scorpions-style power ballad about the end of a relationship. The AI then generates a piece of music from this text input.

To be able to do this, an AI must first be trained using very large amounts of data – in this case, pieces of music –. The record companies accuse Suno and Udio of having trained their systems with songs to which they hold the exploitation rights. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade association of the US music industry, therefore sued the two AI companies last year for copyright infringement.

Copyright infringement or fair use?

The RIAA is demanding up to 150,000 US dollars per song used. For the two companies, this could mean payments in the billions. They, in turn, argue that their use of the songs is covered by fair use. Both sides are now apparently looking for an agreement instead of continuing to argue in court.

The record companies are currently negotiating with the AI companies. This is creating a race to see which AI company and which record company will reach an agreement first, writes Bloomberg. However, the negotiations are difficult because the record companies want more control, while the two AI start-ups want more flexibility. Neither company responded to an inquiry from Bloomberg.

The issue of the use of copyright-protected content does not only affect the music industry. Publishers and media companies are also dealing with the issue. In Europe, a Hungarian court has appealed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and asked for clarification on several issues in the case brought by the Hungarian media company Like against the US internet company Google.

(wpl)