Suno replaces its AI models with a new one trained on licensed music as copyright suits pile up

Suno announced on Wednesday that its new model family, Suno v6, is trained on data licensed directly from music labels and distributors including Warner Music Group, BMG, and Believe.

The startup has faced several legal challenges from record companies accusing it of using copyrighted material to train its music-generation tools. Suno reached a settlement with Warner Music Group last year and signed a deal with BMG last month.

According to the company, Suno v6 does not use the same training data as previous iterations of its software.

Three versions of the model are now available. The base Suno v6 is for paying users and offers controlled outputs. Suno v6 wild is an experimental version for paying users intended for brainstorming and unexpected results. Suno v6 mini is a faster option for everyone. The firm plans to discontinue older models.

Suno claims the new lineup provides greater flexibility. Users can edit a song using a prompt or a lyric word. Text, images, or video can serve as references for creating tracks. It is also possible to separate an instrument from a sample and build a new beat from it.

The company also plans to introduce remixing features. This will happen only if artists opt into a new programme Suno is establishing with music labels to allow their songs to be used for AI-generated content.

Jack Brody, Suno’s chief product officer, stated that derivative work creates more revenue opportunities for all parties involved.

“I think the music ecosystem and our partners are always looking for ways to create more revenue opportunities for their rights holders and artists. So a big part of this release is creating additional revenue streams there,” Brody told TechCrunch.

Last month, Suno announced it would add watermarks to songs generated on its platform. It also recently introduced new download limits based on the account tier.

“We can help manage some of the broader ecosystem challenges like streaming fraud and kind of mass exportation and uploading to distributors that are low intent. At the end of the day, we think it is up to the distributors and the platforms to govern what content goes on there,” he said.

Suno remains under legal pressure from labels such as Sony and Universal Music Group, artists including Jason Isbell, and users who claim the company prioritised profit over security. The model announcement comes a day after the company admitted to training its models using YouTube videos.

Despite these controversies, Suno has raised over $819 million in funding to date, according to PitchBook data.

What it means

For users, the shift means the tool is now built on agreements rather than disputed data. This allows for specific editing tasks like isolating instruments or using visual references. However, the ability to remix existing songs is restricted to artists who explicitly agree to the terms.