Universal Music settles with Udio and licenses a new AI music platform
UMG settled its copyright suit against AI song generator Udio and signed recorded-music and publishing licenses for a new subscription platform trained on licensed music, the first such deal between a major label and a generative AI music service; Warner followed on 2025-11-19, and Udio's existing app became a download-restricted "walled garden" during the transition.
Key facts
- UMG-Udio settlement and licenses announced 2025-10-29; new service promised for 2026
- Warner Music Group settled with Udio and signed a similar license on 2025-11-19
- Udio's existing product stayed online with creations kept inside a walled garden plus fingerprinting and filtering
- Artists and songwriters must opt in; the service lets users make remixes, covers and new songs with participating artists' voices and compositions
- Later licensors reported: Kobalt (Apr 2026), Merlin, Believe; the consumer app was reported in May 2026 to be called Starstruck (Cover, Reimagine, Remix, Create modes), still unlaunched as of 2026-09 per sources found
What happened
Universal Music Group, which had sued Udio (with Sony and Warner, via the RIAA) in June 2024, settled and turned the dispute into a licensing partnership. Udio committed to build a new creation-plus-listening subscription service on models trained only on authorized music, where participating artists and songwriters are credited and paid. Warner signed a similar settlement and license three weeks later. To comply before launch, Udio locked its existing app into a "walled garden": generated tracks could no longer be downloaded or distributed off-platform.
In a private April 2026 webinar (reported by Water & Music, Music Ally and MBW in May 2026) Udio described the coming mobile-first fan app, Starstruck, with four modes: Cover, Reimagine, Remix and Create. We found no confirmation that it had launched by 2026-09-29.
Why it matters
It was the first time a major label turned an AI music copyright lawsuit into a license, setting the template (licensed training, opt-in artists, revenue share, output controls) later followed by Warner's deal with Suno (Nov 2025) and Suno v6 (Sep 2026).
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
- 2026-09-29: added MBW and Water & Music Starstruck links; re-checked, still no launch found (webinar with Kobalt was 2026-04-30)
Related events
Sources (7)
- officialUMG and Udio announce first strategic agreements (PR Newswire)
- officialWMG and Udio collaborate on licensed music creation service (PR Newswire)
- pressMusic Business Worldwide: UMG settles Udio lawsuit
- pressDigital Music News: Udio scores Kobalt licensing deal
- pressMusic Ally: Udio reveals details of its licensed AI-music app Starstruck
- pressMusic Business Worldwide: Udio's licensed AI music app will be called Starstruck
- pressWater & Music: A scoop on Udio's upcoming app, Starstruck
id: 2025-10-29-umg-udio-settlement-licensed-platform · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline