Musicians Union Sues Universal and Warner Over AI Music Licensing Deals
By
Nina Corcoran
FeedBagel synthesis
· 2 sourcesThe American Federation of Musicians (AFM) sued Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group on June 5, alleging the labels breached their collective bargaining agreement by licensing session musicians' recordings to AI companies Suno and Udio without sharing proceeds, Pitchfork reported. The union argues these AI training deals constitute "new uses" of recorded music requiring compensation under the existing pact, according to the same source. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, asserts the labels failed to properly compensate or inform union members about the licensing of their work to train AI models, bsky added.
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Summary
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is suing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) for allegedly breaching their collective bargaining agreement by licensing session musicians' music to AI companies Suno and Udio without sharing proceeds with the union. The lawsuit, filed on June 5, argues that these AI training deals constitute "new uses" of recorded music that require compensation to the musicians under the existing agreement. The case highlights growing tensions between the music industry and AI companies over intellectual property and artist compensation.
Key quotes
· 2 pulledThe AFM brings this lawsuit because defendants, two of the largest music companies...
The major labels' recent licensing training with Suno and Udio, two prominent AI music companies, have not been sharing proceeds with the union, as required in their agreement to compensate members for 'new uses' of their music.
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