Warner Music Group (WMG) announced Tuesday that it has settled its copyright lawsuit against the AI music startup and reached an agreement with Suno. WMG said in a press release that the agreement with Suno “covers and protects artists, songwriters and the broader creative community, while breaking new ground in music creation, exchange and discovery.”
WMG also announced that it has sold Songkick, a live music and concert discovery platform, to Suno for an undisclosed amount. WMG acquired the Songkick app and brand in 2017, and Live Nation later acquired Songkick’s ticketing business.
WMG said Songkic will continue as a fan destination under Suno.
As a result of the partnership with WMG, Suno plans to launch a more advanced licensing model next year to replace the current model. A paid account is required to download audio from the service, while free tier users are limited to playing and sharing songs created on the platform.
WMG artists and songwriters also have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and songs are used in new AI-generated music.
Artists signed to WMG include Lady Gaga, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Sabrina Carpenter, and more.
“This groundbreaking agreement with Suno is a win for the creative community that benefits everyone,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said in a press release. “With Suno rapidly expanding in both users and monetization, we have taken this opportunity to build a model to grow revenue and deliver new fan experiences.”
The news comes a week after WMG settled a copyright lawsuit with AI music startup Udio and entered into a licensing agreement for an AI music creation service scheduled to launch in 2026.
WMG’s settlement with Suno and Udio marks a major shift in the music industry’s approach to AI. Last year, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. While WMG settled its lawsuit with Suno and Udio, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are also reportedly in talks to license their productions to Udio and Suno and settle their lawsuits against the startups.
In a sign of investor confidence in AI music technology, Suno announced last week that it had raised $250 million in a Series C round at a post-money valuation of $2.45 billion. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures, as well as Hallwood Media, Lightspeed, and Matrix.
