A Warner Music pilot turns 11 US record shops into drop-off points for warped, unplayable records, testing whether the format that just passed a billion dollars can finally be recycled at scale.
The majors have signed AI licensing deals and even AI acts, while 31 artist and songwriter bodies say performers are being opted into AI by default, without pay, as 75,000 AI tracks a day flood streaming.
Universal, Warner, Sony and BMG want the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that lets artists reclaim their copyrights worldwide, not just in America, the strongest reversion tool independent musicians have.
The American Federation of Musicians filed a federal lawsuit on June 5, 2026, against Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, arguing that session musicians are legally owed a share of the confidential AI-settlement proceeds their recordings helped generate.
The American Federation of Musicians says the two majors licensed members’ instrumental recordings to AI generators Suno and Udio, the same machines the labels once sued, without asking the players or paying them.
Universal and Sony's copyright case against AI music generator Suno is heading to a July 2026 summary judgment hearing after discovery showed Suno trained on millions of copyrighted recordings, and the ruling could set the template for the entire AI music business.
Warner Music Group has acquired Sureel AI, a startup whose patented 'AI DNA' technology traces how generative models use an artist's work, the clearest sign yet that the majors plan to police, and bill, AI from the inside.
The American Federation of Musicians sued Universal and Warner in New York federal court, arguing their settlements with AI generators Suno and Udio triggered a contract clause that requires paying the musicians whose recordings trained the models.
AI music startup Suno has raised over $400m at a $5.4bn valuation, more than doubling its worth in seven months, even as Universal and Sony move to add 61,000+ recordings to their copyright suit.
Udio's licensed app Starstruck lets fans cover, remix and rewrite opted-in artists inside a closed environment, with no export to Spotify and, per Kobalt, songwriters paid well above the usual streaming rate.
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