AI, Big Content, and the Artist Gap: UMG and Udio’s Music Deal

AI is rewriting the rules of content creation, and the music business isn’t waiting for a perfect script to emerge. The landscape is currently being shaped by a tug-of-war between media giants and tech innovators, a dynamic the Guardian’s Alexander Avila captures with a sharp, human eye. Last year, Universal Music Group (UMG) joined Warner Records and Sony Music Entertainment in suing AI startups over claims that their catalogs were used to train text-to-music models without permission. Then, in a surprising turn, UMG announced a deal with one of the defendants, Udio, to build an AI music platform. The joint press release framed the move as a responsible step forward, insisting that the label will “do what’s right by [UMG’s] artists”.

Behind that carefully polished language lies a familiar tension: partnerships between colossal content gatekeepers and ambitious tech platforms can accelerate innovation while potentially sidelining the very creators who feed their value. The Music Artists Coalition quickly weighed in, arguing that such deals often look like collaboration on paper but leave artists with scraps in practice: “We’ve seen this before – everyone talks about ‘partnership’, but artists end up on the sidelines with scraps.”

Avila’s exploration of this moment shows that the AI disruption isn’t a David vs. Goliath fairy tale where a lone startup topples a giant. It’s a story of co-dependencies, where a mega-label seeks to steer how AI tools access catalogs, and where a burgeoning class of AI firms pursues licensing routes that could redefine what rights look like in a machine-generated future. The UMG–Udio arrangement sits squarely at that intersection, a move that signals not just strategic risk, but a rethinking of governance, licensing, and the practicalities of turning data into new art while trying to keep artists in the loop.

For fans and creators alike, the implications are double-edged. On one end, AI could enable fresh collaborations, smarter sound design, and more personalized listening experiences—tools that help artists ideate and remix within licensed boundaries. On the other, the opacity of licensing terms, the concentration of control over catalogs, and uncertain revenue models threaten to erode the fairness that sponsors a thriving art ecosystem. If the word “partnership” becomes mere rhetoric, the musical landscape risks echoing yesterday’s power imbalances in new AI-infused forms.

The Guardian’s piece doesn’t promise a conclusion so much as a forecast: the AI music era will hinge on transparency, fair compensation, and governance that actually represents the people who create the music we all consume. This is not a throwaway industry drama; it’s a barometer for how society wants to steward technology’s role in culture. As deals like UMG’s with Udio unfold, observers should demand clarity about data use, licensing paths, and a share of the upside that respects artists’ rights and livelihoods. The real story is less about who wins today and more about how the next generation of AI-enabled music gets made—with accountability baked into every note.

Sources and further reading:

1. Guardian: Big content is taking on AI – but it’s far from the David v Goliath tale they’d have you believe — Alexander Avila, 15 November 2025