"...labels to quietly consider licensing arrangements rather than risk exposing gaps in ownership or registration in court."
For the discovery process between Udio and UMG, the court agreed that Universal Music Group must:
1. Provide copies of all of the music they claim was infringed, I.E., prove it!
2. Provide all of the record agreements between the label and the artists to determine if UMG actually owns the recordings. If the agreement specifies that the record was Made Work For Hire, the label owns it forever. If not, it's possible that at 35 years, the artist could reclaim ownership from the label.
This has been so effective that Suno and other AI companies are making the same demands for discovery. Meanwhile nothing stops Suno and Udio from scraping up any music not represented by the labels, such as by indie artists and independent labels.
BUT..."Underlying compositions and lyrics, the lifeblood of songs... have not been part of the current licensing discussions." So even if the labels settle with Suno and Udio, it's not over.
Sources: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2025/10/udio-takes-lead-in-record-label-lawsuit.html
