Music IP Holdings launches AI-music patent platform with Udio and GRAI as first licensees

Music IP Holdings on 20 August unveiled a broad patent framework for generative AI music and said Udio and GRAI were the first companies to license it. The portfolio is now available through www.musiciprights.com, which the company described as an online platform designed to make the patents widely available. The licensing package is aimed at licensed AI services such as covers, remixes and interactive music experiences. It also adds protections intended to stop AI-generated content from being redistributed outside the services where it was created. According to the company's release, the portfolio covers the full chain from prompting and moderation to watermarking, identifier tagging, authorization, licensed distribution and payment across open and closed ecosystems. The patents also reach beyond music into audio, video, film, animation, images and text, as well as uses involving name and likeness. As reported in July, Universal, Sony and Warner had already backed chart rules aimed at curbing AI music fraud. Earlier reporting traced MIH to a July 2025 partnership between Universal Music Group and Liquidax Capital, and said UMG had already filed patents around artist approval, watermarking and controlled distribution for AI-generated derivatives. MIH said it holds and manages more than 24 issued or allowed patents, with more than 50 more pending. Barefoot Media, led by Bill Campbell, is helping bring the portfolio to market and develop licensing opportunities across technology and creative industries, while UMG, its affiliates, artists, songwriters and other participating rightsholders can use it to protect works against unlicensed generative AI uses. Variety noted that Udio and GRAI were first to sign on in part because both already had ties to UMG, including Udio's separate licensing deal. Daniel Drolet, MIH's chief executive, said artists and songwriters should not have to choose between embracing AI and protecting their life's work. He said the portfolio is meant to create new opportunities for responsible innovation while letting rightsholders share in the value their work creates. Udio's Andrew Sanchez called the deal an inflection point for AI and music, while GRAI's Ilya Liasun said his company is building a social streaming service where music moves between people. Bill Campbell said clear, practical licensing frameworks have powered the most successful shifts in digital music, and Chris Horton of Universal said the patents reinforce an ethical innovation strategy with artists and songwriters at the center.