The American Federation of Musicians launched a blunt campaign on Oct. 22. It is called Human Made, Human Paid7. The union wants labels to pay every session player whose recording trained an AI model.
This fight started earlier. The RIAA sued both companies on June 24, 2024, for Universal, Warner and Sony9.
Universal settled with Udio on Oct. 29, 2025. Warner settled with Udio three weeks later, then with Suno on Nov. 2513. Each deal promised artists a share of new AI revenue, if they opted in.
Talks on the labels' labor contract with the union resume Nov. 37. The deals and the pay fight now share one table.
3 label deals closed in a month, a union suit followed in 6
Dated events in the Suno and Udio copyright suits, label settlements and the musicians' union case, June 2024 to Nov. 2026
Each pin is one dated event. Gray pins are the labels' own 2024 suit and its deadlines; magenta pins are the three label settlements; the blue pin is the musicians' union suit against the labels.
Sources: Music Business Worldwide [1]; Billboard [3]; Music Business Worldwide [5]; Rolling Stone [9]. Chart by Ryan Elliott Dennis.
The numbers behind this chart
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 24, 2024 | Majors sue Suno and Udio |
| Oct. 29, 2025 | UMG settles with Udio |
| Nov. 19, 2025 | WMG settles with Udio |
| Nov. 25, 2025 | WMG settles with Suno |
| June 5, 2026 | AFM sues UMG and Warner |
| Sept. 11, 2026 | Dismissal briefs close |
| Nov. 3, 2026 | SRLA talks resume |
What the Settlements Actually Pay
Universal moved first. Its deal with Udio pays an artist only if that artist opts in1. "These new agreements with Udio demonstrate our commitment to do what's right by our artists and songwriters, whether that means embracing new technologies, developing new business models, diversifying revenue streams or beyond," said Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG's chairman and chief executive.
Udio's new platform is reported to carry the name Starstruck. It offers four modes, Cover, Reimagine, Remix and Create, each built around artists who already signed up5.
Warner's two deals use the same opt-in design. A voice, a name or a song style only works inside a platform once its owner agrees3. Warner Music Group's chief executive, Robert Kyncl, called the Suno agreement "a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone".
3 of 6 label suits against Suno and Udio have settled, all opt-in
The six label-platform pairs from the 2024 copyright suit, by status, one cube per pair, as of Oct. 28, 2026
Sources: Music Business Worldwide [1]; Billboard [2]; Billboard [3]. Chart by Ryan Elliott Dennis.
The numbers behind this chart
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Settled on opt-in terms | 3 |
| Still in litigation | 3 |
| Whole | 6 |
Udio and Suno both skip publishing a rate. Billboard asked whether Udio would pay artists by tracing each song's influence on an output, or by a proxy like streaming popularity. Udio's co-founder and chief executive, Andrew Sanchez, declined to say2.
Suno's own announcement promises "new opportunities for artists and songwriters to get paid." The number stays blank3.
Those terms cover the stars signed to a label. They skip one group entirely: the players who performed on the same recordings, under older contracts that still predate AI.
Session Players the Settlements Skip
The American Federation of Musicians represents more than 80,000 players across the United States and Canada7. Many played drums, bass or strings on a major label's catalog. Their contracts were signed years before any AI company existed.
Its suit rests on a labor term: new use. That means a use added after a contract was signed, such as a film score or a video game5. AI training counts as a new use too.
Matt Evans plays brass on shows like "The Late Late Show With James Corden"6. "The fact that I could do something once and then it could be reused, and if that's not negotiated in a contract, then I never got to make a choice to receive additional compensation," he said. "It all comes down to the loss of money".
The AFM sued Universal and Warner in New York on June 5, then amended its complaint on July 245. AFM President Tino Gagliardi connected the suit to the new campaign. "By licensing our members' performances to AI platforms like Suno and Udio without consent, credit, or compensation, companies like Universal, Warner Records, and Atlantic are bypassing the very human creators who made their catalogs valuable in the first place," he said6.
AFM member Will Wells, a composer and producer, framed the campaign as pro-technology and pro-pay at once. "We are pro-human creators and pro-compensation for our labor," he said. "We don't want to stop the advancement of technology. We just want to make sure that people can have a viable career and there's a viable pathway forward for music makers to sustain a living"7.
The Question a Judge Put to the Labels
Universal moved to dismiss the AFM's suit on Aug. 5. Warner Records and Atlantic filed their own motion on Aug. 145. Both argue their Sound Recording Labor Agreement borrows any AI rate from a separate deal, one the two sides have still to negotiate.
US District Judge Edgardo Ramos pressed the point at a July hearing. "You presumably now... are using that music and have licensed with AI companies to train their models and are therefore, presumably, benefiting from that use," he said. "And so why shouldn't you pay the authors of that music?"5
A Universal spokesperson met Ramos's question with a description of process. "Universal Music Group has been at the forefront of protecting the rights and advancing the interests of artists and songwriters in the age of AI – striking responsible AI licensing agreements to ensure they are compensated, leading the charge for legislation to further protect them and taking legal action against bad actors," the spokesperson said5.
Music Artists Coalition founder Irving Azoff made the opposite case the day after Universal's announcement. "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 catalogues," he said4.
billboard@billboardIrving Azoff and MAC React to UMG-Udio Deal: ‘Make Sure It Doesn’t Come at the Expense of the People Who Actually Create the Music’https://t.co/mtQKI8adVH
Both statements can be true together. A label can share new revenue with the stars it signs. Its decades-old contract with a session player can stay silent on AI, until a judge rules otherwise.
What to do
Check whose name sits on an AI deal before taking a label's word on fairness. A settlement that names a featured artist's opt-in right leaves the band's bassist and the horn section on the same track unmentioned.
Ask a union representative or an entertainment lawyer whether your own recording contract already covers AI training as a new use. Most contracts signed before 2023 predate AI training as a category, which is exactly the gap the AFM is suing over.
By the numbers
- 80,000-plus: musicians the American Federation of Musicians says it represents across the United States and Canada7.
- Oct. 29, 2025: the date Universal settled with Udio and became its licensing partner1.
- Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, 2025: the dates Warner settled with Udio, then with Suno3.
- $5.4 billion: Suno's valuation after a $400 million funding round, announced two days before the AFM sued8.
- Sept. 11, 2026: the date briefing closed on the labels' motions to dismiss, with a ruling still pending5.
- Nov. 3, 2026: when the AFM resumes labor talks with Universal, Warner, Sony and Disney's Hollywood Records7.
What to watch
Judge Ramos could rule on the dismissal motions before the new labor talks open. A denial would send the case into discovery, where the labels would have to name every recording they licensed5. Watch whether Universal or Warner publishes an actual rate once Udio's licensed platform launches2.
Sources
- Mandy Dalugdug, "Universal Music settles Udio lawsuit, strikes deal for licensed AI music platform," Music Business Worldwide, Oct. 30, 2025, https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/universal-music-settles-udio-lawsuit-strikes-deal-for-licensed-ai-music-platform/
- Kristin Robinson, "UMG-Udio Deal FAQ: What Questions Remain About the AI Agreement That's Shaken Up the Music Biz?" Billboard, Oct. 31, 2025, https://www.billboard.com/pro/umg-udio-ai-deal-faq-artist-payments-user-downloads-lawsuit/
- Kristin Robinson, "Suno & WMG Ink Licensing Deal, Effectively Settling WMG's Legal Claims Against the AI Music Company," Billboard, Nov. 25, 2025, https://www.billboard.com/pro/suno-warner-music-sign-ai-licensing-deal-settle-lawsuit/
- Music Artists Coalition, "MAC Responds to Universal Music Group's AI Partnership with Udio," Music Artists Coalition, Oct. 31, 2025, https://www.musicartistscoalition.com/news/mac-umg-udio-partnership
- Murray Stassen, "US musicians' union files opposition to Universal and Warner motions to dismiss, saying members' recordings were 'fed into AI systems for commercial exploitation,'" Music Business Worldwide, Sept. 10, 2026, https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/us-musicians-union-files-opposition-to-universal-and-warner-motions-to-dismiss-saying-members-recordings-were-fed-into-ai-systems-for-commercial-exploitation/
- Cerys Davies, "Why some musicians aren't happy about labels signing AI deals with platforms," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 21, 2026, https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/why-musicians-arent-happy-labels-100000724.html
- Bruce Houghton, "AFM launches 'Human Made, Human Paid' AI music campaign," Hypebot, Oct. 22, 2026, https://www.hypebot.com/afm-launches-human-made-human-paid-ai-music-campaign/
- Mandy Dalugdug, "US musicians union sues UMG and Warner Music, alleging member recordings were licensed to Suno and Udio 'without compensation or credit,'" Music Business Worldwide, June 8, 2026, https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/musicians-union-sues-umg-and-warner-music-alleging-member-recordings-were-licensed-to-suno-and-udio-without-compensation-or-credit/
- Ethan Millman, "AI's Most Ambitious Music Generators Accused of 'Massive' Infringement In New Lawsuit," Rolling Stone, June 24, 2024, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/record-labels-sue-music-generators-suno-and-udio-1235042056/