Beyond direct licensing: building a blanket solution for generative AI
Generative AI models for music are disrupting how we create, consume, and remunerate music. Copyright is being scrutinised or updated in various jurisdictions, and a variety of lawsuits are working their way through the courts.
Deezer recently reported that fully AI-generated music now makes up 28% of all uploads to its platform, which leaves little doubt over whether computer generated music is competing with human artistry. If AI generated music is to receive royalties (and I’m not sure it should – one could argue that 100% AI generated tracks should be excluded from DSPs’ revenue pools), then licensing is going to be crucial.
As Bloomberg reported in June, the majors are in talks to license their catalogues to Suno and Udio – the same AI startups they’re suing. Let’s assume they will eventually be successful – although Suno’s response to independent artist Anthony Justice, arguing that genAI music doesn’t infringe the copyrights of music it was trained on, suggests there may still be a gulf to bridge in licensing negotiations.
Even if the majors license both platforms, it’s quite possible that no single rightsholder, regardless of size or influence, would be able to licence its entire repertoire to every AI platform.
Direct licensing may also pose a problem for smaller players. Those with less bargaining power may never reach the negotiating table and, unlike with streaming or UCG, reporting unlicensed music usage is likely to be near impossible considering how difficult it is to prove that AI developers have trained on particular catalogues. With no real clarity around which music has been ingested where, there is arguably little incentive for AI companies to proactively license repertoire that has already been used for training.
Could collective licensing help fill in the gaps?
Read the complete op-ed on Music Ally published on September 22, 2025
Going further
- Read Pascal Bittard’s opinion piece on fake streams published in Music Business Worldwide
- Read Pascal Bittard’s reaction to the creation of Music Fights Fraud
Read Pascal Bittard’s opinion column about the user centric’s payment system.