Definition
Business model where generative AI vendors obtain explicit licenses from rights holders (labels, publishers) to train models on catalog content — contrasted with scraping or fair-use litigation strategies.
Key Points
- 2026-08: stability-ai $76M round — Sony, Warner, Universal license catalogs (2026-10-02-stability-ai-music-mbw)
- UMG strategic alliance Oct 2025; Warner partnership Nov 2025
- Debate continues whether label deals adequately compensate individual artists