Sony, Warner and Universal sign AI music licensing deals with startup
Klay
[November 21, 2025]
By KELVIN CHAN
LONDON (AP) — The world's biggest music labels have struck AI licensing
deals with a little-known startup named Klay Vision, the companies said
Thursday, the latest in a series of deals that underlines how the
technology is shaking up the music industry ’s business model.
Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment,
and their publishing arms, all signed separate agreements with Klay,
according to an announcement posted on Warner's website.
It comes a day after Warner inked two other deals involving artificial
intelligence, with startups Udio and Stability AI.
There were few details released about the agreements or about Klay,
which is based in Los Angeles, and what it does.
The deal terms will help Klay "further evolve music experiences for
fans, leveraging the potential of AI, while fully respecting the rights
of artists, songwriters, and rightsholders,” the announcement said. Klay
has been working with the music industry on a licensing “framework for
an AI-driven music experience" and has built a “large music model”
trained only on licensed music.
AI-generated music has been flooding streaming services amid the rise of
chatbot-like song generators that instantly spit out new tunes based on
prompts typed by users without any musical knowledge. The synthetic
music boom has also resulted in a wave of AI singers and bands that have
climbed the charts after racking up millions of streams, even though
they don’t exist in real life.
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 Warner, Universal and Sony had last
year sued Suno and Udio, makers of two popular AI song generation
tools, accusing them of exploiting the recorded works of artists
without compensating them. But there are signs that the disputes are
being resolved through negotiation.
Warner, which represents artists including Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa,
said Wednesday that it resolved its copyright infringement
litigation against Udio. The two companies said they're teaming up
to develop Udio’s licensed AI music creation service set to launch
in 2026 that will allow users to remix tunes by established artists.
They provided no financial details on their agreement, which
includes Warner's recording and publishing businesses, but it will
create “new revenue streams for artists and songwriters, while
ensuring their work remains protected."
It's similar to an agreement that Universal Music Group signed last
month with Udio, which triggered a backlash because Udio stopped
users from downloading the songs they created.
Udio said it will remain a “closed-system” as it prepares to launch
the new service next year. If artists and songwriters choose to let
their works be used, they'll be credited and paid when users remix
or cover their songs, or make new tunes with their voices and
compositions, the companies said.
Warner said itthis week that it was working with Stability AI on
developing “professional-grade tools” for musicians, songwriters and
producers.
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