Artificial intelligence was the main conversation at the National Music Publishers Association’s annual meeting in New York on Wednesday, as the trade organization announced during the event that it inked a licensing agreement with AI music generation platform Udio, a notable step as NMPA head David Israelite referred to the deal as the music business’s first industry wide licensing agreement with an AI music company.
The NMPA also announced an agreement with AI music startup Klay, which bills itself as a fan-powered platform that allows listeners to use AI to play with the music they’re listening to. Klay had previously announced deals with the big three record companies and music publishers.
“They’ve come to the table to bring creators in as business partners, as it should be,” Israelite said of Udio and Klay to the crowd on Wednesday. Israelite said its member publishers could review the agreement with Udio and decide if they’d like to join in next week.
Udio’s NMPA deal comes months after the AI music generation startup had settled lawsuits with UMG and WMG last Fall. Sony Music Group is still in litigation with Udio.
While Israelite had announced the deals, he told the crowd that the NMPA would continue to litigate against “bad actor” AI companies and emphasized his concern with AI’s impact on streaming fraud, calling upon industry stakeholders like streaming services to take action. He announced an upcoming “AI Songs Summit” in Nashville set for this September for the publishing industry to convene and align on AI policy.
