Korean startup targets 'legal AI music' via copyright tracking

More than half of the new tracks uploaded to French streaming service Deezer each day are now made by artificial intelligence (AI). The company said such uploads peaked in June at about 90,000 a day, up from roughly 10,000 in January 2025. The record industry's response is shifting from the courtroom to the negotiating table. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, which sued AI music generators Suno and Udio in 2024 alongside Sony Music, have since settled with Udio. Warner has also settled with Suno. What the industry still lacks is a way to pay the people whose music feeds these systems. Streaming runs on a simple formula, in which a song is played, counted and paid for, but nothing comparable exists for AI-generated songs that draw on existing ones. For now, platforms are simply keeping fully AI-generated tracks out of royalty payments. These are not distant problems for Korea. K-pop reaches much of its global audience through the same streaming services, and at home, AI-assisted tracks have recently climbed the charts on Melon and YouTube, even though major streaming platforms