Two weeks ago, I wrote a column about how AI training licenses for music might work under the assumption that the development of such deals is a matter of when, rather than if. I said that I’d return to the subject, to focus on how rightsholders might divide money from those deals, but I was interrupted by the Trump Administration’s attack on a late-night talk show, because 2025. Now there’s more relevant news, as an AI-related lawsuit brought by German PRO GEMA goes to court in Munich, offering a look at why I think licensing for AI is something of an inevitability.

In the U.S., it’s not quite. The major labels’ lawsuit against Suno and Udio involves fair use, so it’s possible — but, I think, unlikely — that a court could determine that Suno and Udio don’t need a license in order to copy

See Full Page