Photo Credit: Believe
A month and change after announcing a sweeping policy overhaul, Suno has scored another high-profile licensing deal – this time with Believe as well as its TuneCore subsidiary.
Paris-headquartered Believe reached out with word of the pact today, emphasizing that the tie-up extends to its artist roster and TuneCore clients alike. Now, should these professionals (and labels) opt in, they’ll “be included in the new music models that Suno is launching in partnership with the music industry,” the involved parties indicated.
Of course, participants will also benefit from compensation, though ahead of the initial collaborative model’s debut, specifics are currently few and far between. Nevertheless, Suno and Believe did clarify that “[a]ll tracks created by artists using Suno’s new industry partner model will become eligible to distribute through Believe and TuneCore” – an interesting point given the latter’s reach.
Furthermore, Believe acknowledged the Suno distribution support as a clear-cut departure from its position in the not-so-distant past. But the pivot “reflects the progress achieved in recent months for artists,” the Nuclear Blast parent noted.
“For 20 years,” added Believe founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, “we have been helping artists and labels reach their full potential, and increasingly that means working with new technology like AI, while ensuring that responsible innovation translates into greater opportunities and value-generation for artists.
“The partnership we worked on with Suno for Believe and TuneCore unlocks powerful tools for all artists and labels. It now gives them a meaningful choice over how they can participate, protect their rights and enables them to share the value created by innovative responsible AI technologies,” he concluded.
And on the opposite side of the agreement, Suno head Mikey Shulman touted the union’s perceived potential to “significantly expand opportunities for independent artists.”
“We’ve been laying the foundation for the next generation of Suno, strengthening our safeguards, expanding our industry partnerships, and learning from artists testing our upcoming music models. We’re thrilled to work with Believe on innovative product experiences that will give their artists new ways to earn and build even deeper connections with their fans,” Shulman concluded.
As for how the Suno-Believe deal fits into the bigger gen AI picture, the concise version is that it adds another layer to an already-complex space.
Since August’s start, Suno has been slapped with new copyright suits from Round Hill, Gerencia 360, SOCAN, and a number of artists – while also coming up short in its attempt to dismiss a different artist-led class action. (How many of these class members will opt to participate in Suno monetization via TuneCore?)
However, the stretch has seen Suno resolve a couple copyright cases and secure a licensing agreement with BMG as well, placing the Berlin-based business in the company of fellow Suno partner Warner Music.
Conspicuously absent from the same list are Universal Music and Sony Music, the former of which is evidently intent on licensing a collection of AI patents, the latter of which still hasn’t joined the other majors in settling with Udio.
Moreover, both the walled-garden advocates Universal Music and Sony Music remain embroiled in a high-stakes copyright clash with Suno, which is facing the tall task of implementing largescale operational changes without alienating its existing userbase.
Throw in forthcoming product launches from Udio and Klay Vision – besides Spotify’s own upcoming AI offering, which rather curiously counts Universal Music as its lone major-label licensing partner at present – and you’re left with a sub-sector that’s heavy on unknowns.
