The industry’s relationship with AI keeps making headlines, especially in the last few days. We witnessed major labels pivot from litigation to collaboration, big tech expanding its creative toolsets, and platforms being pressured to define boundaries more clearly. Alongside this, new legal battles and emerging ethical debates show just how unsettled the AI music landscape still is.
#1. UMG Settles Udio Lawsuit, Prepares Licensed AI Platform
This was everywhere in the music industry’s news outlets, so unless you’ve lived under a rock this week, you couldn’t have missed it. Just one day before the Stability AI announcement, Universal settled its lawsuit with Udio, one of the most prominent AI music generators. As part of the settlement, UMG and Udio will co-develop a licensed platform for AI-generated music. The service is expected to launch in 2026. These back-to-back deals suggest that Universal is shifting toward a proactive licensing strategy, opting to shape the AI future from within rather than fighting it from the outside.
#2. Universal Music Partners with Stability AI on Music Creation Tools
As we pointed out previously, Universal Music Group has announced a new strategic partnership with Stability AI to build professional music creation tools powered by generative AI. The alliance will focus on artist-first product development, using licensed data and direct input from UMG artists and songwriters. The goal is to support creative workflows through responsible AI development while protecting rights-holders. UMG says these tools will be commercially safe and deeply integrated with artist feedback.
#3. Drake Sued Over Alleged Use of Gambling App in Diss Track
Drake is facing a new lawsuit accusing him of using a gambling app’s branding and interface in the music video for his Kendrick Lamar diss track. The complaint, filed in New York, argues that the visual references to the app amount to unauthorized commercial use. While the case is not tied to AI or platform disputes, it highlights how IP conflicts are now touching every layer of content, from samples and stems to UI design. Maybe the one thing that would leave everyone intact would be to walk away from all these back-and-forth lawsuits.
#4. Adobe Firefly Adds Music Creation to AI Suite
Adobe has expanded its Firefly AI platform to include audio generation tools aimed at creators who want to build custom soundtracks and background music for video. The new features allow users to generate music based on tone, tempo, and emotion, similar to current text-to-music models but embedded into Adobe’s broader creative suite. With this, Adobe is entering the music AI space more seriously, targeting content creators rather than artists directly.
#5. The Industry Remains Divided on Generative AI
Wrapping up on a global overview, fitting for the amount of news regarding AI, MIDiA Research explores how fragmented the music industry remains on generative AI. While some are rushing to integrate it into tools and campaigns, others continue to resist over unresolved questions around consent, compensation, and creative credit. The divide is no longer just about being for or against AI. It is about who controls the infrastructure, who licenses the data, and who gets to define what counts as authorship.
