AI music generation platform Suno has announced a "global alliance" with BMG, the world's fourth-largest music company, as it prepares to release new models trained on licensed music and developed in partnership with major players in the music industry.
In a statement shared today, the companies outlined plans to develop "entirely new music experiences that reimagine how artists and fans can connect" through a "strategic framework" covering BMG's recorded and music publishing repertoire.
According to BMG, the agreement ensures that its artists and songwriters will be compensated for the use of their music in training Suno's models, both retrospectively and moving forward. The statement made clear that only artists who choose to participate will have their music licensed to Suno.
BMG follows in the footsteps of Warner Music Group in its partnership with Suno, who reached a settlement in November last year that allowed the controversial AI music company to train its models using music from Warner's catalogue.
Warner was the first of the "Big Three" major record labels to settle with Suno. The other two – UMG and Sony Music – remain engaged in an ongoing lawsuit with the company that began in 2024, alleging "wilful copyright infringement on an almost unimaginable scale" and claiming that Suno copied "decades' worth of the world’s most popular sound recordings" to train its models.
On July 31, German performance rights organization GEMA landed a victory over Suno in the Munich Regional Court, marking the first time that a European court has ruled on the training of AI platforms in the United States. The court ruled that Suno should be obliged to pay license fees for the use of GEMA's repertoire, which covers works by more than 100,000 members.
The world's leading AI music generation platform, Suno has a user base of more than two million paid subscribers and recently raised more than $400 million in funding at a valuation of $5.4 billion.
Last week, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman announced that the company will adopt audio watermarking and fingerprinting technology to ensure that Suno-generated songs can be identified on other platforms. He also outlined new download limits designed to limit the ability to mass-distribute songs on streaming platforms and combat streaming fraud.
In the same post, Shulman shared a set of principles that he claims guide the company's mission to "build the future of music responsibly" and "contribute to a healthy and growing ecosystem".
Regarding the partnership with BMG, Shulman said: "We believe the future of music will be more participatory, creating entirely new ways for artists and fans to connect."
"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."
Celine Joshua, BMG's EVP of Global Marketing & Streaming, added: "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.
"Choice is 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."
