Believe and TuneCore reverse course and partner with Suno
Believe just did the opposite of what it did five months ago.
Believe just did the opposite of what it did five months ago.
In April 2026, the French distribution group blocked its catalogue — including TuneCore's self-release artists — from Suno's then-current AI models, citing unlicensed use of copyrighted recordings. On September 8, Believe and TuneCore announced a global strategic partnership with Suno instead: their artists and labels can opt in to Suno's new licensed model, and tracks made through it become eligible for distribution on both platforms under a revenue-share arrangement. It is Suno's first deal with an independent distributor, arriving days after Suno struck similar licensing partnerships with Warner and BMG.
The reversal isn't about Suno's technology changing. It's about the deal changing — from training on unlicensed catalogues with no consent or payment, to an opt-in model with disclosed terms and a revenue share. That is the difference a rights holder can live with, and it is landing in the same weeks a Munich court ruled against Suno for exactly the unlicensed version of this.
Two tracks are running at once: courts pricing what past unlicensed training cost, and distributors pricing what a licensed version is worth going forward. The second one is what decides whether AI-generated music becomes a normal line in a catalogue or stays a liability nobody will touch.
