Music IP Holdings, the joint venture between Universal Music Group and IP management firm Liquidax, has named Udio and GRAI as the first licensees of its AI music patents. The venture holds more than two dozen granted patents with over fifty pending, and says the portfolio covers the whole process of making and selling AI-generated content, from prompt through moderation, watermarking, tagging, authorisation, licensed distribution and payment.
Neither licensee surprises. Udio, once Universal's courtroom opponent, now builds a licensed product with Universal, Warner and Merlin. GRAI, the Warsaw remix and social-listening startup, raised nine million dollars from Khosla Ventures in April.
The assertive part is who else must pay. The venture's site says using patented technology without a licence is infringement even for those who wrote their own code, and that anything which generates, transforms or decomposes music needs one. Digital Music News asks whether Spotify is next; with a Nashville office and an online licence application, the venture plainly expects more deals.
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