TuneCore Reverses Course on Suno, Now Will Distribute Its AI-Generated Music

Suno is entering a partnership with Believe Music, the owner of popular music distribution platform TuneCore, the companies announced on Tuesday.

Suno and Believe said the partnership will include “music from participating Believe and TuneCore artists and labels,” which Suno said will be included in the company’s upcoming new model that will be trained exclusively on licensed music. Other partners on that model are Warner Music Group, smallest of the “big three” major record companies, and BMG, one of the biggest independent music companies in the industry.

The partnership is an opt-in agreement, so TuneCore artists need to give permission for their content to be included in any training. The Believe deal marks Suno’s first partnership with an independent music distributor. In a press release, Suno and Believe said that rights holders who participate “will be compensated for their music and their rights will be protected.”

Notably, the partnership means that all tracks created on Suno will once again be allowed to be distributed through TuneCore, carving out the industry’s largest AI music platform from Believe’s previous policy update from April where the company told Music Business Worldwide that it would block distributing AI-generated songs made on “pirate platforms.”

“For 20 years, we have been helping artists and labels reach their full potential, and increasingly that means working with new technology like AI, while ensuring that responsible innovation translates into greater opportunities and value-generation for artists,” Believe founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie said in a statement. “The partnership we worked on with Suno for Believe and TuneCore unlocks powerful tools for all artists and labels. It now gives them a meaningful choice over how they can participate, protect their rights and enables them to share the value created by innovative responsible AI technologies.”

Suno remains one of the most controversial companies in the music industry, facing lawsuits from the likes of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and Round Hill, as well as from country-rock musician Jason Isbell. The company also caught flak last week over a strange controversy regarding ads featuring Mary J. Blige. The ads showed Blige seeming to endorse the company, though Suno yanked the videos as she herself hadn’t approved them.

Still, as this latest deal shows, Suno has steadily carved out a lane in the music business as the industry has sought to keep ahead of the AI era.

“We have always shared a common goal with Believe to support independent artists at all stages of their careers. This partnership will significantly expand opportunities for independent artists, giving them access to creative tools, new paths to distribute their music through Believe and TuneCore, and more exposure”, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman said in a statement. “We’ve been laying the foundation for the next generation of Suno, strengthening our safeguards, expanding our industry partnerships, and learning from artists testing our upcoming music models. We’re thrilled to work with Believe on innovative product experiences that will give their artists new ways to earn and build even deeper connections with their fans.”