News Major Labels Settle Suno Udio 2026

Correction: An earlier version of this article inaccurately stated that all three major labels settled with both Suno and Udio. In fact, only Warner Music Group settled with Suno; UMG and Sony's lawsuits against Suno remain active. UMG settled with Udio but Sony's lawsuit against Udio also continues.

April 6, 2026 — Warner Music Group has settled its copyright infringement lawsuits against both AI music companies Suno and Udio, transitioning to licensed partnerships. Universal Music Group settled only with Udio, while its lawsuit against Suno continues. Sony Music Entertainment has not settled with either company, and both of its lawsuits remain active.<ref name="techcrunch">TechCrunch, "Warner Music Signs Deal With AI Music Startup Suno, Settles Lawsuit", November 25, 2025</ref><ref name="mbw">Music Business Worldwide, "Warner Music Group Settles With Suno, Strikes First-of-its-Kind Deal", November 2025</ref><ref name="courthouse">Courthouse News, "AI Song Generator Startups Suno and Udio Angered the Music Industry", 2025</ref><ref name="dmn">Digital Music News, "Suno Universal Music Lawsuit: Where Things Stand", April 24, 2026</ref>

Settlement Status (as of April 2026)

Label	Suno Status	Udio Status
Warner Music Group	Settled (Nov 2025)	Settled (Nov 2025)
Universal Music Group	Active lawsuit (ongoing discovery; settlement talks stalled over fees and equity)	Settled (Oct 2025)
Sony Music	Active lawsuit (stalled talks; seeking Warner-Suno deal terms in discovery)	Active lawsuit

Background

The lawsuits were filed by the major record labels in 2024, alleging that Suno and Udio trained their generative AI music systems on copyrighted sound recordings without authorization.<ref name="techcrunch" /><ref name="courthouse" />

Settlement Details

WMG-Suno (November 25, 2025): Warner Music and Suno announced a "first-of-its-kind" partnership settling the lawsuit, providing compensation and protections for artists and songwriters, including control over names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions in AI music.<ref name="techcrunch" /><ref name="mbw" /> Suno retired its unlicensed models and launched new licensed models using the Warner catalog; free users can only play and share, while downloads require payment.<ref name="techcrunch" /> WMG also sold Songkick, a concert-discovery platform, to Suno.<ref name="mbw" />

WMG-Udio (November 19-24, 2025): WMG settled its lawsuit and entered a licensing deal for a "next-generation" AI music platform launching in 2026, with Udio becoming a "walled garden" with no downloads or exports allowed.<ref name="techcrunch" /><ref name="mbw" />

UMG-Udio (October 2025): Universal Music Group settled its lawsuit against Udio and signed a licensing deal for an AI music platform set to launch in 2026.<ref name="courthouse" />

Active Litigation

UMG v. Suno: Universal's lawsuit against Suno remains active in U.S. District Court (Massachusetts), with ongoing discovery. A protective order was filed in December 2025. Settlement talks have stalled over licensing fees for training data and reported demands for equity stakes in Suno.<ref name="dmn" /><ref name="stalemate">HappyCapyGuide, "Suno UMG Sony Licensing Stalemate", 2026</ref>

Sony v. Suno and Sony v. Udio: Both lawsuits continue. Sony is seeking details of the Warner-Suno settlement terms through discovery.<ref name="dmn" /><ref name="stalemate" />

Significance

The partial settlements mark a split in the music industry's approach to AI, with Warner Music embracing licensing partnerships while UMG and Sony continue pursuing litigation to establish stronger precedent and compensation terms. The ongoing UMG and Sony cases against Suno may produce the first judicial rulings on whether training AI on copyrighted sound recordings constitutes fair use — a question the Bartz v. Anthropic summary judgment addressed only for books and text.<ref name="courthouse" /><ref name="dmn" />

Suno and Udio continue to face separate litigation from independent artists and international disputes, including the pending GEMA v. Suno case in Germany.<ref name="mbw" />

Key dates

June 24, 2024 — UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Suno, Inc. filed<ref name="courthouse" />
October 2025 — UMG settles with Udio<ref name="courthouse" />
November 19-25, 2025 — Warner Music settles with Udio and Suno<ref name="techcrunch" />
December 2025 — UMG v. Suno: protective order filed; Sony continues separate litigation<ref name="dmn" />
April 2026 — UMG/Sony settlement talks with Suno stalled; both pursue discovery, including Warner-Suno deal terms<ref name="dmn" /><ref name="stalemate" />
June 12, 2026 — GEMA v. Suno ruling expected (Germany)<ref name="mbw" />

Related pages

References