The American Federation of Musicians has sued Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, arguing that the labels struck AI licensing deals without properly compensating or informing the musicians whose recordings were used.
Filed Friday, the lawsuit centers on the major labels’ agreements with AI music companies Suno and Udio. AFM, which represents session musicians, says the settlements and licensing arrangements amount to a breach of the labels’ collective bargaining agreement.
According to the complaint, UMG and WMG licensed sound recordings on which AFM-represented musicians performed, but did so without credit or payment to those players. The union also says the companies have refused to disclose which recordings were included in the AI training sets.
The dispute comes after UMG and WMG were among the major labels that sued Suno and Udio in 2024 over allegations that the AI systems had been trained on millions of copyrighted recordings without authorization. Since then, both labels have reached settlements with Udio. Warner also settled with Suno. Under those deals, the companies are building new AI models trained on licensed material, though the services are expected to operate under different distribution limits. Universal remains in litigation with Suno, while Sony has not settled with either company.
AFM argues that the labels’ deals create fresh revenue from the use of musicians’ work and that those proceeds should flow to the players who contributed the performances. The union says its contract requires the labels to compensate members for new uses of their music.
The lawsuit also raises a broader issue that has unsettled parts of the music industry: whether licensing AI models requires approval only for the songs those systems generate, or also for the recordings used to train them. UMG and WMG have said they intend to secure opt-in approval for AI-generated outputs, but the AFM says that does not answer the question of compensation for training inputs.
Music contracts have increasingly been revised to address AI training, but legal experts have noted that labels may try to rely on older blanket licensing language to authorize use of entire catalogs. That possibility has fueled concern among artists and advocates who want clearer consent and payment rules.
In comments responding to the suit, Universal said it has been working to protect artist rights in the AI era through licensing agreements, legislation and litigation against unauthorized uses. The company said the union chose to bring the case during bargaining and that it expects to continue working through negotiations.
Warner said it is building a healthier AI ecosystem with safeguards for artists and expressed disappointment with the lawsuit, calling it unproductive while negotiations continue.
Representatives for Suno and Udio did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case adds another layer to the music business’s fight over how AI should access recordings, and who should benefit when those recordings become part of licensed machine-learning systems. With the licensed Suno and Udio models still under development, the industry has yet to settle a central question: how much control and compensation musicians will have when their performances are used to train AI tools.