Universal Music Group and Udio are redefining AI in the music industry with their first licensed AI-powered music creation platform.
Universal Music Group (UMG), a world leader in music-based entertainment and Udio, an AI-powered music creation platform, have announced industry-first strategic agreements under which the companies settled copyright infringement litigation and will collaborate on an innovative new commercial music creation, consumption and streaming experience.
In addition to the compensatory legal settlement, the new licence agreements for recorded music and publishing will provide further revenue opportunities for UMG artists and songwriters.
The new platform, which will be launched in 2026, will be powered by cutting-edge GenAI technology trained on authorised and licensed music. The new subscription service will transform the user engagement experience, creating a licensed and protected environment to customise, stream and share music responsibly on the Udio platform.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled about this collaboration and the opportunity to work alongside UMG to redefine how AI empowers artists and fans,” said Andrew Sanchez, Co-founder and CEO, Udio. “This moment brings to life everything we’ve been building toward – uniting AI and the music industry in a way that truly champions artists. Together, we’re building the technological and business landscape that will fundamentally expand what’s possible in music creation and engagement.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO, UMG, said: “These new agreements with Udio demonstrate our commitment to do what’s right by our artists and songwriters, whether that means embracing new technologies, developing new business models, diversifying revenue streams or beyond. We look forward to working with Andrew who shares our belief that together, we can foster a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies and technology companies can all flourish and create incredible experiences for fans.”
Udio’s existing product will remain available to users during the transition period with creations controlled within a walled garden and the service amended in multiple ways – including fingerprinting, filtering and other measures – before the launch of the updated service.
For years, UMG has played a pioneering role in fostering AI’s enormous potential. UMG is the first company to enter into AI-related agreements with YouTube, TikTok, Meta, KDDI, KLAY Vision, BandLab, Soundlabs and Pro-Rata, among others. Today, UMG and Udio mark the next chapter of innovation between technology companies and rightsholders by working together towards unlocking new capabilities.
