Suno’s new AI music models promise royalties for rights holders

Suno is releasing v6, a new generation of AI music models developed with participation from Warner Music Group and BMG. Ashley Carman and Lucas Shaw report for Bloomberg that the company will pay music copyright holders when users create tracks with the new models.

The rollout marks a change from Suno’s earlier models, which did not compensate owners of the music rights used in training. Suno has not disclosed how royalties will be calculated or how much it will pay.

Chief Product Officer Jack Brody told Bloomberg that payments will go to record labels and music publishers. Those companies will decide how to distribute money to artists and songwriters. Warner Music Chief Executive Officer Robert Kyncl previously said Suno would pay his company and its artists more per user than major streaming services, including Spotify.

V6 also restricts a sensitive part of AI music prompting. Users cannot enter the names of real artists to request songs in their style, according to Brody. That limitation addresses concerns from musicians over imitation, especially over the unauthorized use of voices.

The models add options to create songs from audio, images, and video. Users can also combine multiple genres and creative references in a single prompt. Suno said it is developing tools that could eventually let users make AI-assisted remixes or covers, but such features are not yet available.

Warner Music and BMG are participating in the initiative, while Universal Music Group and Sony Music have not reached deals with Suno. Both companies are suing the startup over alleged copyright infringement. The v6 release therefore gives Suno a licensing framework with some major rights holders while disputes with others continue.