{"id":2963,"date":"2025-06-12T18:40:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aimi.fm\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2025-06-12T18:43:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:43:57","slug":"why-independent-artists-need-a-fair-generative-ai-royalty-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimi.fm\/why-independent-artists-need-a-fair-generative-ai-royalty-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Independent Artists Need a Fair Generative-AI Royalty Model"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What the Suno\/Udio Major-Label Deals Really Mean<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0reported that Universal, Sony, and Warner are negotiating blanket licensing pacts with Suno and Udio\u2014start-ups often called the \u201cChatGPTs of music.\u201d The majors will hand over decades of catalog masters in exchange for cash, ongoing fees, and even equity stakes.\u00a0

From the labels\u2019 perspective it\u2019s pragmatic: monetize AI instead of suing it. For individual creators\u2014especially independents\u2014the deal re-opens an old fear: once your sound is inside someone else\u2019s model, you may never get it back\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0see meaningful earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Blanket Licensing Leaves Independent Artists Behind<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even if every song is treated \u201cequally\u201d at training time, payouts rarely follow suit. Streaming has shown that when revenue pools are divided by popularity, the top one percent absorb most of the money, while smaller acts receive pennies.\u00a0A similar pro-rata bias is almost certain if Suno and the majors distribute AI revenue according to catalog weight or chart history. This despite the fact that all songs are equally important for training a model. So while the models don’t play favorites when it comes to training, they will certainly play favorites when it comes to pay out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sample-Based, Opt-In Alternative<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aimi was built to solve precisely that inequality. Our system revolves around three opt-in components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n