Skip to content
musicartistscoalition.7.staging.bubbleup.com

MAC Responds to Universal Music Group's AI Partnership with Udio

Digital Music News | Irving Azoff, MAC Demand 'Creative Control', Fair Compensation, and Clarity As UMG+Udio Ink Dries


LOS ANGELES, CA – The Music Artists Coalition (MAC) today issued the following statement regarding Universal Music Group's announced partnership with AI music generation company Udio:

“Every technological advance offers opportunity, but we have to make sure it doesn’t come at the expense of the people who actually create the music - artists and songwriters," said Irving Azoff, board member and founder of MAC.

"We've seen this before - everyone talks about 'partnership,' but artists end up on the sidelines with scraps. Artists must have creative control, fair compensation and clarity about deals being done based on their catalogs"

MAC believes any AI music system must enshrine three core principles:

  1. Artist Consent: The original music creators need meaningful control over if and how their work is used to train AI systems. 
  2. Fair Compensation: Artists must share meaningfully in this revenue, with splits that reflect the fundamental value of their creative work. 
  3. Deal and data Clarity: Artists need clear visibility into the deals being struck and how their work is being used by the platform.

While MAC appreciates the concept of artist opt-in and granular control, several fundamental questions must be answered: 

  • Meaningful consent: How do artists actually control what uses they authorize? What happens when multiple songwriters or performers on a single song disagree about participation? 
  • Revenue splits: What percentage of revenue goes to artists versus the label versus the AI company when their music is used to train models or generate new works?
  • Data and deal transparency: Was settlement money paid? How will that be distributed to artists? Will artists’ pay-outs for a new revenue stream just be applied to old unrecouped balances? Will artists see exactly how their work is being used within the AI system and have ongoing visibility into its use?

"Artist opt-in sounds promising, but participation without fair compensation isn't partnership; it's just permission," said Ron Gubitz, MAC’s Executive Director. "Artists create the work that makes these AI systems possible. They deserve both control over how their work is used and appropriate compensation for its value generation. It’s the three C’s: consent, compensation, and clarity."

"The music industry is at a crossroads," Gubitz continued. "The decisions being made right now will shape how music gets created, distributed, and monetized for decades to come. That's exactly why MAC exists—to ensure artists have a seat at the table when those decisions are made."

MAC will continue working with artists and allied organizations to establish clear principles for ethical AI in music creation, advocate for frameworks that protect artists’ rights, and ensure fair compensation.

"We're cautiously optimistic but insistent on details," Jordan Bromley, Leader at Manatt Entertainment and board member of MAC, concluded. "True partnership requires appropriate oversight and remuneration for all involved parties. The industry needs to get this right—for artists, for fans, and for the future of music itself."