Robert Kyncl Calls Suno AI Partnership a 'Smart Win' in Warner Music Group Memo

Warner Music Group is making its peace with artificial intelligence, provided the checks clear. In an internal memo sent to staff on Wednesday, WMG CEO Robert Kyncl framed Suno’s newly debuted v6 model as a major step forward for legacy rightsholders. The memo, obtained by Billboard, surfaced just hours after Suno launched the update in tandem with WMG, BMG, and Believe. According to Suno, the v6 line was trained on material supplied directly by the three music companies, establishing a revenue-share system. In exchange, Suno agreed to shut down its earlier model, which was trained on copyrighted catalogs without permission. “Today marks a milestone in our mission to protect our artists and songwriters and bring them opportunity in a rapidly changing world,” Kyncl wrote. He noted that the pact represents “the first time [Warner Music Group] talent has been able to participate in revenue from music creation in addition to music consumption,” calling the licensing terms a “smart win.” The majors gave up on killing generative tech in court and decided to tax the machine instead. Selling training access turns catalog preservation into a prompt-generation toll booth, and whether splitting those creation royalties actually protects human songwriters or just licenses their replacements is an open question. For now, the corporate precedent is locked in.