Nolan Heimann's Jane Davidson Quoted in the Los Angeles Times on AI Music Licensing Deals

We're pleased to share that Jane Davidson, Associate at Nolan Heimann LLP, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times article "Why some musicians aren't happy about labels signing AI deals with platforms."

In 2024, the major labels sued AI music generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. Two years later, several of them are licensing their catalogs to those same platforms. The deals say artists can opt in and will be credited and paid, but payout terms haven't been disclosed. Whether an artist can actually say no often depends on who owns the rights and what their label contract allows.

Drawing on her copyright litigation and music industry experience, Jane explained how much control labels hold under typical recording agreements:

"These companies are able to make deals on behalf of their artists, and their control over their music is pretty significant based on what major label contracts typically say. But I expect that we will have some artists that push back against this and say that they didn't authorize the use of their music for this purpose."

As AI changes how music is made and licensed, Nolan Heimann continues to advise artists, creators and companies on the rights, contracts and opportunities involved.