Suno Inks BMG Licensing Deal for New AI Music Models
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- Suno signed a licensing deal with BMG covering the publisher's repertoire for new models and past training use, the first major AI music partnership BMG has accepted since the generative era began.
- BMG joins Warner Music Group in settling with Suno, while Suno still faces active copyright suits from Universal Music Group and Sony Music.
- Suno announced it will begin watermarking downloaded songs and capping downloads across its three usage tiers to combat AI "slop."
- BMG sued Anthropic in California federal court earlier this year alleging unauthorized training on recordings by Bruno Mars and the Rolling Stones, calling it "widespread and systematic infringement"; that case remains ongoing.
- BMG, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music jointly proposed new charting guidelines reserving industry success metrics for tracks that are "substantially human made."
- A German court ruled last month that Suno violated U.S. and German copyright laws.
Why it matters: BMG's settlement with Suno comes months after it sued Anthropic for similar alleged training practices, crystallizing a split between music-industry litigators and dealmakers. Suno gains legitimacy ahead of new model releases even as unresolved suits from UMG, Sony, and a German court keep its legal exposure intact.
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