Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced the settlement of a copyright infringement litigation with AI-powered music creation platform Udio.

Under “industry-first” strategic agreements between the two companies, as well as the compensatory legal settlement, the firms have agreed to launch a new licenced AI music creation platform.

UMG is also the first company to enter into AI-related agreements with YouTube, TikTok, Meta, KDDI, KLAY Vision, BandLab, Soundlabs and Pro-Rata, among others.

The settlement follows a dispute by UMG which accused the AI business of copyright infringement.

UMG said that the new platform, which will be launched in 2026, will be powered by new "cutting-edge" generative AI technology that will be trained on authorised and licensed music.

It added that a new subscription service will "transform the user engagement experience" by creating a licensed and protected environment to customise, stream and share music responsibly, on the Udio platform.

“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, chairman and chief executive of UMG. "We look forward to working with Andrew who shares our belief that together, we can foster a healthy commercial AI ecosystem in which artists, songwriters, music companies and technology companies can all flourish and create incredible experiences for fans.”

Udio's existing platform will remain available to users during the transition period with creations controlled within a walled garden and the service amended in multiple ways—including fingerprinting, filtering, and other measures—before the launch of the updated service.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about this collaboration and the opportunity to work alongside UMG to redefine how AI empowers artists and fans,” said Andrew Sanchez, co-founder & chief executive of Udio. “This moment brings to life everything we’ve been building toward - uniting AI and the music industry in a way that truly champions artists.

"Together, we’re building the technological and business landscape that will fundamentally expand what’s possible in music creation and engagement.”

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