UMG’s Udio deal prompts questions from Irving Azoff and the Music Artists Coalition

Universal Music announced on Wednesday (October 29) that it has settled its copyright infringement litigation against Udio and has agreed to collaborate on a new commercial music creation, consumption, and streaming experience. The new platform is set to launch in 2026.

The new partnership promises to provide “further revenue opportunities for UMG artists and songwriters” and allow users to customize, stream and share music within what the companies describe as a “licensed and protected environment.”

The day after the deal was announced, the Music Artists Coalition, a nonprofit organization representing music creators, stated that it seeks clarity on revenue splits and artist consent.

Irving Azoff, board member and founder of MAC, said in a statement emailed by the Music Artists Coalition: “Every technological advance offers opportunity, but we have to make sure it doesn’t come at the expense of the people who actually create the music – artists and songwriters.”

“We’ve seen this before – everyone talks about ‘partnership,’ but artists end up on the sidelines with scraps. Artists must have creative control, fair compensation and clarity about deals being done based on their catalogs.”

Irving Azoff, Music Artists Coalition

Azoff added: “We’ve seen this before – everyone talks about ‘partnership,’ but artists end up on the sidelines with scraps. Artists must have creative control, fair compensation and clarity about deals being done based on their catalogs.”

The coalition is seeking answers to several questions before endorsing the arrangements. These include questions about the percentage of revenue allocated to artists versus labels and AI companies when music is used to train models or generate new works, as well as whether settlement payments will be distributed to artists or applied against unrecouped balances from previous advances.

Ron Gubitz, MAC’s Executive Director, said: “Artist opt-in sounds promising, but participation without fair compensation isn’t partnership; it’s just permission.

“Artists create the work that makes these AI systems possible. They deserve both control over how their work is used and appropriate compensation for its value generation.”

Gubitz added: “The music industry is at a crossroads. The decisions being made right now will shape how music gets created, distributed, and monetized for decades to come. That’s exactly why MAC exists — to ensure artists have a seat at the table when those decisions are made.”

“Artists create the work that makes these AI systems possible. They deserve both control over how their work is used and appropriate compensation for its value generation.”

Ron Gubitz, Music Artists Coalition

MAC also questioned how consent will work when multiple songwriters or performers on a single track disagree about participation in AI training.

UMG had said that Udio’s existing product will remain available with what UMG described as creations controlled within a “walled garden.” The service will add fingerprinting, filtering, and other measures before the updated platform launches.

Udio initially announced that downloads from its service would be unavailable during the transition period, but has since offered a 48-hour window starting today (Monday, November 3) for users to download their content.

Jordan Bromley, Leader at Manatt Entertainment and board member of MAC, said: “We’re cautiously optimistic but insistent on details. True partnership requires appropriate oversight and remuneration for all involved parties. The industry needs to get this right—for artists, for fans, and for the future of music itself.”

Shortly after disclosing the Udio deal, UMG announced that it has also entered into a strategic alliance with Stability AI to develop “next-generation professional music creation tools.”

UMG said that these tools will be powered by “responsibly trained generative AI and built to support the creative process of artists, producers and songwriters globally”.

“We’re cautiously optimistic but insistent on details. True partnership requires appropriate oversight and remuneration for all involved parties.”

Jordan Bromley, Manatt Entertainment

Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of the ethical generative AI non-profit Fairly Trained, welcomed the Udio news on Thursday, writing in an op-ed: “[T]his is a huge win for Universal, and for the music industry as a whole. Udio will license training data; artists’ and songwriters’ permission will be sought; and generated music will be confined to the platform, rather than running rampant on the wider internet.”

Music Business Worldwide