BMG signs licensing deal with AI music platform Suno

AI music generator Suno has signed a new licensing agreement with music company BMG, the two parties announced jointly. The deal gives Suno permission to use BMG's catalog of recordings and music publishing works for both training its models and for user generated derivative works. At the same time, the agreement also covers Suno's prior use of BMG material, for which it had no license until now. This makes BMG the first major music company to take such a step toward Suno, nine months after Warner Music Group became the first major player to reach a similar settlement with the company.

A key condition of the deal is an opt in arrangement for artists and songwriters. They must actively give their own consent before their music can be used, whether for training Suno's AI or for generating new music based on their work. Those who agree will receive compensation. BMG's top executive Celine Joshua, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Streaming, described this choice as the guiding principle: "This agreement establishes strong protections, clear economics, and new creative possibilities for artists and their fans. As we enter the era of creation, we look forward to shaping that future together with our creators and Suno."

Suno co founder and CEO Mikey Shulman emphasized the ambition to make the music world more inclusive. "We believe the future of music will be more participatory, creating entirely new ways for artists and fans to connect," he said in a statement. "Building that future responsibly means working directly with the people who make music and the companies that represent them. Together with BMG, we can develop new experiences that give artists and songwriters real choice, generate new revenue, and make music a bigger part of people's lives."

The deal coincides with the announcement of a new AI music model that Suno is developing in collaboration with the music industry, with Warner Music Group involved as a partner alongside BMG. Suno previously announced that it will be limiting the number of downloads for subscribers in order to discourage large scale exports of AI generated songs to streaming services. The company is also investing in watermarking technology and digital fingerprinting to make AI generated content identifiable, partly in line with the transparency requirements of the European AI Act.

Meanwhile, the legal pressure on Suno remains substantial. Universal Music Group and Sony Music are still pursuing a lawsuit in the United States over alleged large scale copyright infringement during the training of earlier models. All three major record labels filed lawsuits last year. Last month, a court in Munich also ruled that Suno had violated the rights of the German collecting society GEMA and ordered the company to disclose its revenue and pay damages. The Danish rights organization Koda also has an ongoing case against Suno. The company said it is weighing all options, including an appeal in the GEMA case.

BMG, owned by German media group Bertelsmann, manages more than three million songs and recordings by artists and songwriters including will.i.am, Jean Michel Jarre, Tina Turner, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll and Paul Simon. The company is on the verge of a merger with rights holder Concord, a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year after regulators in Germany and the United States have already given the green light. Suno itself raised more than 400 million dollars in June at a valuation of 5.4 billion dollars and says that more than one hundred million people have used its platform. For Dutch musicians and songwriters who have their rights managed by BMG, the opt in arrangement means they remain in control of any AI related use of their work.