Warner, Universal Music AI Pacts Breach Contract, Union Says (1)

Warner Music Group Corp. and Universal Music Group Inc. violated their collective bargaining agreement after they reached settlements that allowed artificial intelligence companies to use sound recordings to train models, according to a new lawsuit.

The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada alleged that the companies violated their pact with the union when they failed to compensate or provide information to members before they licensed their work to AI firms Suno and Udio

Their June 5 complaint in the Southern District of New York said Warner and Universal in 2025 reached settlements agreements with Suno and Udio in 2025 that included “licensing agreements permitting the use of copyrighted recordings to train their AI models.” The music groups had filed separate lawsuits in 2024 that accused the companies of violating copyright law for unauthorized and uncompensated use of sound recordings. Universal spokesperson James Murtagh-Hopkins said its lawsuit against Suno was still ongoing and the parties hadn’t reached a settlement.

In the complaint, the union said the settlement agreements allow the AI companies to use the work of AFM members to train “AI models to generate supposedly ‘new’ sound recordings derived from music ingested into their models.”

The settlements violated a “new use” provision of the parties’ labor contract that requires the music companies “to notify the AFM of licenses and other transfers of rights in music” for uses not covered by the CBA and to compensate members who work on those recordings.

“While the Defendants protected their own interests and created a significant source of new revenue with the retrospective settlements and prospective licenses, they have refused to compensate the musicians whose work – created with their own instruments and through their talent, creativity, and hard work – is fed into AI machines for profit,” the complaint said.

Murtagh-Hopkins said Universal is committed to striking “responsible AI licensing agreements” to protect the rights of artists in the AI era.

“The AFM chose this route during our collective bargaining negotiations, and we will continue to work to resolve any issues through these negotiations, as we have in the past,” he said in an emailed statement. “We expect to continue our strong working relationship with the AFM built on mutual respect for the talented musicians in our industry.”

Attorneys from Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP represented the union. Representatives from Warner Music Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The case is Am. Fed’n of Musicians of the U.S. and Canada v. Warner Music Grp. Corp., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:26-cv-04760, 6/5/26.