Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl is openly defending his company’s decision to settle with and license Suno, even as Universal Music Group and Sony Music continue litigating against the AI music company. His argument is pragmatic: when an AI service has real audience traction and is willing to move toward a licensed model, the music industry should shape that transition rather than simply fight it.

Kyncl’s case for engaging with Suno

Speaking on Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast, Kyncl said audience adoption is central to his thinking. His view is that the industry should not ignore a service that has already attracted substantial numbers of users if that company is prepared to become licensed.

That approach reflects Kyncl’s technology background. Instead of treating every new distribution or creation platform as an existential threat, Warner is trying to negotiate rules while the market is still forming.

Warner and its rivals are pursuing different strategies

The major music companies agree that copyrighted music should not be used without permission, but they differ on how quickly litigation should turn into licensing. Warner chose to settle with Suno. BMG later reached a deal. Universal and Sony have continued their legal cases.

That disagreement is important because the first large licensing contracts can establish templates for compensation, attribution, model training, voice protections and how AI-generated output is commercialized.

The licensed-model promise is the key test

Suno has said it will retire its existing models and launch a new generation developed with music-industry partners. That promise is crucial to Warner’s defense of the deal. A licensing agreement that only covers future output without changing training practices would leave many of the industry’s core concerns unresolved.

The transition will therefore be watched closely by artists and songwriters. They will want to know what repertoire is licensed, whether participation is opt-in, how revenues are calculated, and how human creators can prevent unauthorized voice or style imitation.

AI could become a new subscription revenue layer

Warner has already told investors that AI licensing deals could contribute materially to subscription streaming revenue growth from fiscal 2027. The company sees interactive creation products as a separate monetization layer on top of passive listening.

That argument is attractive because users of generative music tools can pay higher monthly fees than ordinary streaming subscribers. But higher revenue only becomes meaningful to creators if the licensing structure actually returns value to the music that trained or powers those systems.

Why this matters for independent artists

The major-label negotiations will influence the rules that smaller rightsholders eventually encounter. If licensed AI becomes standard, distributors and publishers may introduce new opt-in systems, metadata fields and revenue reporting for generative uses.

Independent artists should pay attention to consent language. The most important question may not be whether an AI platform is licensed in general, but whether a specific artist can decide how their recordings, compositions, name and voice are used.

Source

Music Business Worldwide: Robert Kyncl justifies Suno deal