Published: 10/9/2026
Source: The AI Musicpreneur
Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge says a licensed AI music deal must deliver opt-in participation, fair compensation, protection and respect—and he does not believe Suno v6 has settled UMG's underlying objections.
Suno says v6 was trained with licensed partner music plus user creations and preference signals. UMG and Sony argue that using outputs and signals from earlier models can carry forward alleged infringement; Suno disputes that theory.
Grainge also left the door open to fully AI-generated music under the right structure. His position is not a blanket rejection of the technology. It is a demand that creators and rights holders control participation and share in the value.
Why it matters: Suno's Warner, BMG and Believe partnerships do not produce industry-wide legal certainty. AI music licensing remains a company-by-company negotiation, with model lineage and training provenance now as important as the final catalog license.

