Universal Music Group vs Warner Music Group

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP AND ELEVENLABS ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR STRATEGIC AGREEMENT, BEGINNING WITH A NEW LICENSED AI MUSIC CREATION PLATFORM

Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announce a multi-year strategic agreement, beginning with a new licensed AI music creation platform.

ElevenLabs and Universal Music Partner for AI Song Remixing

Universal Music Group (UMG) and AI audio company ElevenLabs announced a multi-year licensing partnership to develop a platform enabling fans to create remixes, mashups, and reinterpretations of songs from Universal's catalog. The platform will feature music only from artists who actively opt in. Financial terms and a launch date were not disclosed. ElevenLabs, known for voice cloning, has faced legal challenges over voice cloning without consent, settling one case in August 2025 but still facing a class action. This is ElevenLabs' first major music label deal, while Universal has previously partnered with Udio, Klay, Spotify, and Nvidia. The initiative combines ElevenLabs' AI models with Universal's rights management and artist community, aiming to provide fair compensation to artists and songwriters.

• Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announced a multi-year licensing partnership to develop a fan remixing platform.
• The platform will feature music from artists who actively opt in and will be separate from ElevenLabs' existing music offerings.
• ElevenLabs has a song generator and a Music API, as well as a dedicated ElevenMusic app.

Stability AI Raises $76M Series B

Stability AI, the company behind the Stable Diffusion image-generator, raised $76 million in a Series B round, bringing its total fundraising to $232 million. The company said the round includes strategic investment from entertainment and gaming companies — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Electronic Arts — alongside investors AMD Ventures and Pacific Alliance Ventures. Stability plans to use the funds to expand its "creative production" product suite and professional services. The company has been building partnerships with major entertainment firms and has recently seen favourable legal outcomes in a UK copyright case, while related U.S. litigation remains pending.

• Stability AI raised $76 million in Series B funding.
• The new round brings the company's total fundraising to $232 million.
• Investors include Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Electronic Arts, AMD Ventures and Pacific Alliance Ventures.

Suno Replaces AI Models with Licensed-Music Training

AI music generation startup Suno has unveiled Suno v6, a new family of models trained exclusively on licensed data from music labels and distributors including Warner Music Group, BMG, and Believe. This move comes amid multiple copyright lawsuits from record labels and artists. Suno v6 is available in three versions: base, wild (experimental), and mini (free). The company plans to retire older models and introduce features like opt-in remixing for artists. Despite ongoing litigation, Suno has raised over $819 million in funding. The announcement follows Suno's admission of training models on YouTube audio, a claim challenged by UMG and Sony.

• Suno unveiled Suno v6, a new AI model family trained on licensed music data.
• Suno v6 includes three versions: base, wild (experimental), and mini (free).
• Suno settled with Warner Music Group and struck a deal with BMG.

Investor Presentation Released: Warner Music Group

AI parsed presentation narrative: Warner Music Group is delivering robust growth and margin expansion through strong performance in recorded music and publishing, specifically driven by double-digit subscription streaming growth. The company is successfully leveraging technology and AI alongside disciplined operational focus to scale long-term profitability and shareholder value. Key tailwinds mentioned: Subscription Streaming Growth, Operational Efficiency.

MUSIC WEEK: FOLLOWING RETURN TO WARNER, MADONNA SCORES FIRST NO. 1 ALBUM AND HIGHEST SALES WEEK IN 14 YEARS

Madonna achieves first No. 1 album and highest sales week in 14 years after returning to Warner Music Group.