Part 2. How are different stakeholders in the music industry responding to AI?
The Players
When it comes to AI, the main players in the music industry include:
musical artists (songwriters, recording artists, producers, session musicians),
record labels, who fund, release, and market recordings,
publishers, who promote and license songs and collect royalties for songwriters,
performance rights organizations, who license public performance of songs and pay songwriters and publishers,
digital service providers (DSPs, i.e. streaming platforms) such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal, who pay rightsholders a share of their revenue based on the number of streams,
distributors such as DistroKid and TuneCore, who deliver recordings to streaming services and pass on royalties to rightsholders,
and music tech companies, which include:
generative platforms like Suno and Udio, which target musicians and non-musicians alike,
tools for musicians (e.g., stem separation, AI-assisted mastering), from established music software companies to newer AI-forward companies,
and services for rightsholders, such as those that detect AI-generated music (see Part 3, “Detecting and Tracing AI-Generated Music”).
Although it is tempting to treat these groups as monoliths, and as simply pro- or anti-AI, the reality is more nuanced.
Streaming Services: No Safe Harbor?
These issues also play out on streaming platforms. When it comes to artist compensation, streams of AI-generated tracks can take a share of the same royalty pool that pays human artists. When it comes to transparency, listeners do not always know if they are listening to AI-generated music.
Streaming services have recently begun rolling out more policies regarding AI. Most of the decisions they have made relate to:
If AI-generated tracks are monetized.
If AI-generated tracks are part of algorithmic recommendations and/or editorial playlists.
If content is labeled or tagged to identify that it was made partially or entirely with AI.
For an overview, see Billboard “How Each Music Listening Platform Is Treating AI Music.”
Who Owns the Music
Each piece of music essentially has two copyrights: the first is for the recording itself, called the “master rights,” and the second is for the underlying composition (melody, lyrics, chords), which is called the “publishing rights.”
In addition, artists do not necessarily own all the rights to their music. For example, master rights could be owned by or shared with a record label or music producer, and publishing rights could be shared by the songwriters and their publisher. There is significant overlap between labels and publishers; the parent companies of the three largest record labels also own the three largest publishers in the industry: Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Publishing, and Warner Chappell Music.
For an in-depth look at copyright and the economics of the music industry, see United States Copyright Office, “Copyright and the Music Marketplace.”
An Un-United Industry
The primary practical points of contention are interconnected issues of:
Consent
Should artists have the right to decide if their work is used in training AI?
If a work is licensed, what are the terms (e.g., who can use it, for what purpose, for how long, etc.) and who decides?
Transparency
Should artists know who is using their work to train AI and for what purpose?
Should consumers be informed if the music they are listening to is AI-generated and/or made with the assistance of AI?
Compensation
What should the compensation structure for artists and rightsholders look like? Who should determine the terms of compensation? How much transparency should there be around these terms?
From Litigation to Licensing
Initially, record labels responded to AI music generation companies through litigation. The first major lawsuit was brought by the RIAA alongside Sony Music, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group against Suno and Udio in 2024. This led to settlements beginning in 2025. Notably, among the three major labels, only Warner Music Group has settled with Suno, and all but Sony Music settled with Udio.
These settlements have led to changes in the way that music generation services operate. As a result of settling with Universal Music Group in October 2025, Udio no longer allows users to download the music they generate (transitioning to a “walled garden” platform).
Suno has also been changing the way it operates. In early September 2026, it started limiting users’ monthly downloads as a lead-up to the release of its new v6 model on September 9. v6 is the first model that Suno released “in partnership with the music industry.” The release of v6 also marked the retirement of Suno’s previous models. However, rather than resolving Suno’s legal issues, these developments led to Universal Music Group and Sony filing a new lawsuit against Suno shortly after the release of v6.
AI companies have also made agreements with publishers and distributors. In June 2026, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA, the U.S. publishers’ trade association) signed licensing deals with Udio and KLAY, and in September 2026, Suno announced a partnership with Believe and TuneCore.
Artists Push Back
Musical artists each have their own personal beliefs and stances on music and AI. However, the deals that have been struck between players in the music industry and AI companies have resulted in backlash, as many artists do not want their work used as training data without their permission and want to be compensated for licensing deals.
In June 2026, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, the “world’s largest instrumental musicians union,” reported that it is suing Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group for licensing their work to AI companies. Additionally, “a worldwide coalition of artists, songwriters and managers’ groups” released a letter arguing that musicians deserve consent and control over the use of their music as training data, fair compensation when their music is used as training data, and clarity and transparency about how their music is used.
Part 2: Wrapping Up
While the trend in the industry seems to be moving increasingly toward licensing, there are disagreements around issues of consent, transparency, and compensation. Simultaneously, these issues are playing out on streaming service platforms, which need to decide how AI impacts their policies on monetization, promotion, and disclosures.