Suno Strikes BMG Partnership After Warner Settlement

Suno Builds Music Industry Bridges With BMG Deal

Suno, one of the leading AI music generation platforms, announced a partnership with BMG on Wednesday that settles potential copyright claims and establishes a framework for future collaboration. The agreement comes two months after Suno reached a similar settlement with Warner Music Group, signaling the company's strategy to resolve disputes with rights holders individually rather than through prolonged litigation.

The BMG deal covers both the company's recorded music catalog and music publishing operations. According to a joint press release, the settlement resolves any claims related to Suno's prior use of BMG-controlled music in training its AI models. BMG represents artists including Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, and Lainey Wilson on the recorded side, while its publishing roster includes Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bruno Mars, and John Legend. The company also controls rights associated with catalogs from Tina Turner, Paul Simon, and Mötley Crüe.

Why it matters

This partnership model—requiring artist consent and promising compensation—could become a template for how AI companies license training data from the music industry. But it also highlights a fundamental split: some rights holders are negotiating deals while others, notably Universal Music Group, are pursuing aggressive litigation. The outcome will shape whether AI music tools can legally access the full breadth of commercial music or operate with fragmented, permission-based datasets.

Artist Opt-In Creates New Friction

Both the Warner and BMG agreements appear to require artists and songwriters to actively opt in to having their work used in future AI training. This structure may prove challenging in practice. Madonna's manager Guy Oseary recently told podcaster Tim Ferriss that his client, whose catalog Warner controls, has flatly refused to participate regardless of compensation. "Madonna does not want her music trained on," Oseary said. "Don't care what you want to pay her."

Celine Joshua, BMG's executive vice president of global marketing and streaming, framed the approach as artist-centric. "The future of AI in music will be defined by whether artists and songwriters remain at the center of the opportunity and share in the value it creates," Joshua said in the announcement. "Choice is the guiding principle."

Legal Battles Continue

Despite these settlements, Suno faces ongoing legal pressure. Universal Music Group sued Suno in 2024 alongside Sony Music Entertainment and Warner—before Warner's subsequent settlement. Universal has expanded its lawsuit and is actively seeking to uncover the terms of Suno's Warner agreement. The company settled with Suno competitor Udio last October but shows no signs of backing down from the Suno case.

In January, a German court delivered a significant ruling against Suno, finding the company violated both German and U.S. copyright law by training on music from the GEMA collection society's repertoire. The court ordered Suno to pay damages.

Suno has taken steps to address industry concerns beyond settlements. The company recently announced it will provide detection tools for songs created with its technology and implement download caps designed to limit the volume of AI-generated music flooding streaming platforms. Suno is also emphasizing its Studio product, which gives musicians granular control over the AI's output.

Suno co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman positioned the BMG partnership as part of a broader vision. "We believe the future of music will be more participatory, creating entirely new ways for artists and fans to connect," Shulman said. "Building that future responsibly means working directly with the people who make music and the companies that represent them."

These details were first reported by Rolling Stone.