Suno unveils licensed AI music model with label backing

AI music company Suno is preparing to launch its new v6 model with licences from major music companies, ERR reported. The model is designed to share revenue from AI-generated music with artists and their record labels.

The US-based company has been seeking the rights and licensing agreements needed to make its operations more legally compliant. Its new models are based on agreements with Warner Music Group, music publisher and record label BMG, and Believe, a French digital distributor and artist support company.

Suno says v6 is its most powerful model to date. Product chief Jack Brody said the agreements would help create a larger music industry, Variety reported.

“The goal is to make sure that the long-term effort does not benefit only the industry, but everyone,” Brody said. “It should create opportunities for the existing music industry, artists and all musicians.”

The paid version of v6 allows users to generate songs in different genres and styles based on written prompts. Users can also give specific instructions to change details without regenerating the entire song. A higher-priced “Wilder” version allows users to create more ambitious sounds, with each new version intended to produce less predictable results.

The new model is Suno’s biggest step towards legitimising its operations. The company and AI-generated music more broadly have faced criticism from artists and musicians, even as Suno signs agreements with record labels and music publishers.

This summer, a German court found Suno liable for copyright infringements. The company also faces lawsuits from Universal Music and Sony, which accuse it of illegally training its models. The companies are seeking 150,000 dollars for each of 560 recordings submitted to the court. They initially wanted to submit more than 61,000 recordings.

In court documents, Suno has accused Sony and Universal of anticompetitive conduct and illegally monopolising music. The company also acknowledged that it had illegally downloaded copyrighted music from YouTube using the YT-DLP extension to train its models.

Brody said the new models reflected extensive work and discussions about what mattered to all parties, but acknowledged that Suno still had work to do to win artists’ support. The company will need that support for its next product, a remixing tool that would allow artists to let fans modify their songs on request. Spotify is also developing a similar AI tool.