Key Highlights:
- Shulman told Billboard he “really wished he had chosen different words” about making music being unenjoyable, but made no apology for admitting Suno trained on copyrighted recordings
- The March 2026 walkback coincided with Suno disclosing 2 million paid subscribers and $300 million in annual recurring revenue
- UMG and Sony Music lawsuits remain active in US federal courts despite Suno’s November 2025 settlement with Warner Music
Apology arrives as Suno hits $300M ARR
Suno CEO Mikey Shulman offered a public apology in March 2026 for his January comments on the 20VC podcast, where he claimed “the majority of people don’t enjoy the majority of the time they spend making music.” He told Billboard: “I really wish I had chosen different words. I do have a lot of respect for music.”
The timing is notable. The walkback landed days after Suno disclosed 2 million paid subscribers and $300 million in annual recurring revenue. This is not Shulman’s first piece of provocative public positioning — he previously compared AI music to Ozempic and claimed musicians secretly use AI while denying it publicly.
Three claims, one retraction
The original 20VC interview contained three distinct statements. Shulman said making music is mostly unenjoyable, “taste is the only thing that matters in art and skill is going to matter a lot less,” and Suno used “copyright protected music” in training as “stock standard” practice “every AI company does.””
His March 2026 statement walked back only the first claim. The “skill matters less” position and the training data admission stand. The RIAA’s landmark lawsuits against Suno seek up to $150,000 per infringed work, making the training data admission the most legally consequential statement Shulman has made publicly.
Copyright admission carries more weight than the opinion
The takeaway: The backlash over creative dignity drowned out a more damaging statement, one plaintiffs are far more likely to quote in court.
Ed Newton-Rex of Fairly Trained and James Blake both publicly criticized Shulman for dismissing the value of musical craft. The training data confession registered almost nowhere outside legal circles. Meanwhile, the GEMA lawsuit in Germany and Koda proceedings in Denmark continue alongside active US cases from UMG and Sony.
Shulman is now rebranding the Warner Music settlement as a “partnership.” The deal required Suno to retire its current model in favor of one trained on licensed content only, a forced legal outcome rather than a strategic choice. This mirrors how UMG framed its own contradictions, telling investors AI was “not a material issue” while suing Suno for mass infringement. MBW founder Tim Ingham laid out the accountability gap in an open letter to Shulman.
Suno’s hiring of former Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota as Chief Commercial Officer confirms the business pivot. Sirota is the hire you make when you want licensing deals, not court battles. Digital Music News reporting on the backtrack noted Shulman maintained his fair use position even after the apology.
Sony lawsuit outcome matters more than the apology
For producers and music professionals, the operative question is what a Sony ruling means for every Suno subscriber. A decision against Suno forces a full model rebuild, changing output quality and pricing for everyone on the platform. Udio took a different approach, striking a licensed training deal with Merlin before building at scale. Suno extracted maximum value from unlicensed data first, then pivoted to licensing once the legal exposure made the old model untenable.
95% of UK music creators rejected AI copyright exceptions in 2025, with 88% demanding compensation for training data use. The creator community consensus was never aligned with the “”stock standard”” framing. Suno built a $300M business on unlicensed data and is now pivoting to licensing. The apology is PR cover for a business decision already in motion.
Frequently asked questions
What did Suno CEO Mikey Shulman say about making music?
On the 20VC podcast in January 2026, Shulman claimed “the majority of people don’t enjoy the majority of the time they spend making music” and “skill is going to matter a lot less” than taste. He also admitted Suno trained its AI on copyrighted recordings, describing it as “stock standard” practice.
Did Suno CEO apologize for his comments?
Shulman told Billboard he “really wished he had chosen different words” about making music being unenjoyable. He did not retract his claim about skill mattering less, or his admission about using copyrighted training data for AI training.
Is Suno still being sued over copyright infringement?
Yes. While Suno settled with Warner Music in November 2025, UMG and Sony Music lawsuits remain active in US federal courts. GEMA in Germany and Koda in Denmark are also continuing legal proceedings against Suno.
How big is Suno’s business in 2026?
Suno reported 2 million paid subscribers and $300 million in annual recurring revenue as of February 2026. The company is also developing “Hooks,” a TikTok-style social feed for AI-generated music clips.
Why did Suno settle with Warner Music but not other labels?
The Warner settlement required Suno to retire its current model and launch a new one trained exclusively on licensed content. UMG and Sony chose to continue litigation rather than settle, keeping their cases active in Boston and New York federal courts.
