Suno Launches Licensed AI Music Models After Warner Copyright Settlement

Suno has unveiled a fresh generation of AI music models in collaboration with Warner Music Group, BMG, and Believe, announcing a complete retirement of its previous models with the rollout of the new v6 generation. The company announced the transition from v6 on Wednesday. The new lineup comprises v6, v6-wild, and v6-mini. Suno claims that v6 is tailored to generate more refined music, while v6-wild emphasizes unpredictable outcomes.

However, only Pro and Premier subscribers can access v6 and v6-wild, while v6-mini remains open to all users. These models provide features such as partial song editing, blending multiple sources into mashups, audio isolation, and sampling. Users can also employ a variety of prompts, including text, audio, images, or video, to create music.

This development primarily aims at catering to existing music creators rather than casual users experimenting with AI-generated songs.

The launch follows Suno's November 2025 settlement with Warner, which had accused the AI company of unauthorized use of copyrighted music. Part of this agreement, Suno vowed to develop more sophisticated licensed models and discontinue its previous generation. However, Suno has not disclosed the specific music catalogues used to train v6, the quantity of licensed material involved, or the training process.

Believe anticipates that artists will have the opportunity to opt into new Suno experiences, and AI-generated songs could become eligible for distribution via Believe and TuneCore. Suno also mentions that participating artists will eventually receive payment, though the payment structure remains undisclosed.

The licensing agreements have altered the manner in which users can utilize Suno. Although free tier songs can still be played and shared, they cannot be downloaded. Paid users receive monthly download allowances and can purchase additional downloads once they reach their limit. Suno previously introduced watermarking and fingerprinting technologies in response to mounting copyright concerns.

However, the copyright battles are far from over. A German court recently ruled that Suno infringed copyright in a case brought by the collecting society GEMA. Universal is also excluded from Suno's latest partnership announcement, while Sony is pursuing a separate copyright case against rival AI music company Udio, seeking $4.5 billion over 30,000 songs.

The industry is gradually dividing into music companies licensing their catalogs and developing products with AI firms, and those persistently challenging them through legal means. Suno's estimated $5.4 billion valuation provides major labels with a considerable commercial incentive to negotiate instead of relying on litigation.