A prominent record label executive is joining the leadership team of Suno, the AI music-making platform that – along with rival Udio – is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit by the majors.
Paul Sinclair, who spent over two decades at Warner Music Group (WMG) in various roles, is taking up the post of Suno’s Chief Music Officer, a role in which he will “guide how Suno’s AI-powered tools are integrated into the process of songmaking,” Suno said.
Sinclair spent the last several months advising Suno, the Boston-headquartered company said in a statement on Monday (July 7).
He most recently served as General Manager and Executive Vice President of Warner’s Atlantic Records. He joined WMG in 2001 as Director, Digital Properties, and moved to Atlantic in 2006.
As EVP of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Atlantic, Sinclair was credited with being the driving force behind the label’s digital department. He was named to Billboard’s Digital Power Players list in 2016 and 2017.
Sinclair was promoted to General Manager and EVP of Atlantic Records in 2019.
Throughout his career, Sinclair has worked with such stars as Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Charli XCX, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ed Sheeran, Janelle Monáe, and Kelly Clarkson, along with numerous up-and-coming artists.
According to Suno, he’s “built a reputation in the industry as a forward-thinking leader who helps drive the technological shifts that reshape how music is created, shared, and experienced, always with the goal of deepening the connection between artists and their fans”.
“Having spent my career at the intersection of music, technology, and artist development, this next journey brings all of that together in a new and inspiring way,” Sinclair said in a LinkedIn post on Monday (July 7).
“Suno’s technology is extraordinary, but what excites me even more is the opportunity to help shape how it’s used, in ways that empower artists, songwriters and producers of all abilities, expand creative expression, and build new bridges between music and fans.”
“Having spent my career at the intersection of music, technology, and artist development, this next journey brings all of that together in a new and inspiring way.”
Paul Sinclair
In an email to employees announcing Sinclair’s appointment, Suno Co-Founder and CEO Mikey Shulman said he’s “excited” about Sinclair joining the company.
“The unique perspective he brings to music and technology and his incredible optimism about the future of music will be invaluable as we embark on the next chapter of the Suno adventure,” Shulman wrote.
“The unique perspective he brings to music and technology and his incredible optimism about the future of music will be invaluable as we embark on the next chapter of the Suno adventure.”
Mikey Shulman, Suno
In his LinkedIn post, Sinclair said his role will be in part “about the healthy music ecosystem that we help to build” and “how we imagine the future of music in a world where AI will be one of many tools in the creative process, empowering artists and enabling more people to experience the joy of creating songs.”
Not everyone is convinced that Suno and other AI song-creation platforms are creating a “healthy music ecosystem.”
Last year, record labels owned by the three recording majors – Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group – sued Suno, accusing the startup valued at $500 million of using copyrighted works without permission to train its AI models.
The music companies filed a similar lawsuit against AI company Udio as well. In their response to the record companies’ complaint, Suno and Udio all but admitted to using copyrighted works in training, but argued that the use should be granted a “fair use” exemption to copyright law.
The question of whether training AI on copyrighted works without a license or permission remains undecided in US courts. Two recent rulings from US federal judges handed down contradictory opinions on the matter, with one judge ruling in a case against AI company Anthropic that it does count as fair use, while another judge, in a decision on a case against Meta Platforms, declared that it’s not.
Bloomberg reported in early June that the majors are in licensing talks with Suno and Udio, which may result in the music companies taking equity stakes in the generative AI platforms.Music Business Worldwide
