Suno and Udio continue development during industry standoff

Suno rolled out a new set of updates to its Song Editor this week.

The tool now supports longer tracks, gives users more stem control, and introduces three new sliders that affect how the AI handles structure, reference strength, and a parameter called “weirdness.” The timing lines up with increased pressure from the major labels, who are now pushing for licensing deals that include technical oversight.

Universal, Sony, and Warner are reportedly in talks with Suno and Udio. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, one of the main conditions is that both platforms adopt a fingerprinting system. It would function similarly to YouTube’s Content ID, scanning AI-generated output for resemblances to known recordings and flagging them for rights enforcement or monetization. The goal is to install a permanent tracking layer across the platforms’ audio pipelines.

Labels seek Suno ownership, influence over product direction

Bloomberg previously reported that the majors are also asking for equity in both Suno and Udio.

Beyond partial ownership, the labels want direct involvement in product planning. That includes influence over what tools are built and how users interact with copyrighted material. These demands point to a licensing model that is less transactional and more embedded.

The new Song Editor tools reflect a shift toward real-world production workflows. Users can now import tracks up to eight minutes in length, modify or rearrange sections, and export up to 12 isolated stems. A track can start from a prompt, a melody, or an audio file already in progress. The creative sliders give users more granular control over how the AI responds to each input. These updates follow version 4.5, which expanded vocal capabilities and added support for multi-genre generation.

Legal pressure continues, but product development moves forward

Despite ongoing lawsuits, product teams at both Suno and Udio continue to release updates. Sony, Warner, and Universal filed suits last year, presenting examples of outputs that resembled copyrighted songs. The platforms responded by citing fair use, arguing that training on existing material falls within legal bounds. No ruling has been made yet that addresses how copyright law should apply to large-scale music generation.

Suno is also named in a separate lawsuit filed by German rights organization GEMA.

The company completed a funding round in early 2024 that brought in $125 million and pushed its valuation to $500 million. Investors and users are watching closely to see whether the company will operate under direct label oversight or continue to defend its training data choices in court.

The majors are done letting platforms set the rules

This isn’t the first time Universal Music Group has used public pressure to reshape platform dynamics.

In 2024, UMG label pulled its entire publishing catalog from TikTok after licensing talks collapsed. The move impacted thousands of songs and highlighted UMG’s willingness to take short-term visibility losses in exchange for more control over distribution terms. CEO Lucian Grainge used the company’s Q4 earnings call to reinforce that position, arguing that platforms need to provide “fair compensation” and actively address concerns around AI and copyright enforcement.

UMG said TikTok only represented about one percent of its total revenue, and that short-form video engagement was already well diversified across platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat. That framing wasn’t just about revenue. It was a signal to the industry that UMG wants leverage in all negotiations, not just traditional sync or streaming. When Grainge said, “free doesn’t work for us,” it wasn’t about one deal—it was a posture aimed at every tech company trying to integrate music without a licensing framework the majors find acceptable.

The push for Content ID-style fingerprinting in Suno and Udio’s infrastructure lines up directly with that approach. Instead of reacting to unlicensed uses after the fact, the majors want preemptive enforcement built into the tools themselves. That means no more reliance on manual takedowns or open legal threats. It also means these AI platforms will either need to comply or risk having their models functionally blocked from working with any music data tied to the majors’ catalogs.

UMG has also been vocal about wanting more platform-level responsibility in how AI is handled. The issue goes beyond audio replication. Labels are tracking everything from lyric reuse to melodic interpolation, and want licensing structures that account for all of it. TikTok was an early flashpoint, but it’s clear that these expectations are being extended across every type of platform—including generative ones.

With licensing talks now active and lawsuits still ongoing, Suno and Udio are navigating the same pressure that TikTok failed to resolve. And this time, the majors aren’t just threatening to walk away. They’re asking for equity, oversight, and technical hooks inside the platforms themselves.