Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group, led by chairman Sir Lucian Grainge, is the largest of the three major music companies, home to artists from Taylor Swift to Drake. It has been the music industry’s most aggressive combatant against unlicensed AI — and, later, its most aggressive dealmaker with the same technology.

First to sue

UMG’s alarm went public in April 2023, when the AI-cloned Drake/Weeknd track “Heart on My Sleeve” went viral and the company had it scrubbed from streaming platforms, warning the industry to choose which side of history it was on. That October, UMG, Concord and ABKCO sued Anthropic in the music industry’s first major case against an AI developer, alleging Claude reproduced lyrics to more than 500 songs — including Katy Perry’s “Roar” — nearly word for word, and seeking at least $75 million. A judge denied UMG’s bid for a preliminary injunction in March 2025. In June 2024, UMG joined the other majors in RIAA-led suits against music generators Suno and Udio over the alleged mass copying of recordings.

From lawsuits to licenses

The endgame proved to be licensing, not prohibition. On October 30, 2025, UMG settled with Udio and announced a partnership to launch a subscription AI music platform in 2026, trained only on authorized and licensed music — alongside a separate deal with Stability AI to build professional AI music-creation tools. The pivot drew backlash from artists and advocacy groups demanding transparency about how creators would consent to and be paid for the new platform.

UMG describes its posture as pro-innovation and pro-artist — fighting “unethical” AI while embracing what it calls responsible AI under license. Critics on both sides see leverage: sue until the price is right.