MUSIC IP HOLDINGS UNVEILS GROUNDBREAKING PATENT PORTFOLIO AND LICENSE FOR AI MUSIC CREATION, WITH UDIO and GRAI AS FIRST ADOPTERS
New patent framework enables responsible AI innovation, protecting artists and songwriters while supporting licensed AI services
Online licensing platform makes patent portfolio accessible to AI innovators
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Music IP Holdings (MIH) today unveiled a broad patent framework for generative AI, designed to drive responsible innovation while providing additional ways to protect artists, songwriters and their music.
Udio and GRAI are the first technology companies to license the MIH patents, supporting the development of licensed AI services including covers, remixes and a wide range of interactive music experiences. The licenses also provide additional protections designed to address the unauthorized redistribution of AI-generated content beyond their services. The patents extend beyond music to a broad range of content, including audio, video, film, animation, images and text, as well as applications involving name and likeness.
The patent portfolio is available to license now through a simple, accessible online platform designed to enable widespread adoption: www.musiciprights.com
MIH holds and manages a portfolio of more than 24 patents, both issued and allowed, with a further 50+ patents pending. The portfolio spans the full process of creating, licensing and commercializing AI-generated content: from the moment a prompt is entered through moderation, watermarking, identifier tagging, authorization, licensed distribution and payment across both open and closed ecosystems.
Barefoot Media, led by CEO Bill Campbell, is supporting MIH in bringing the portfolio to market and developing licensing opportunities across the technology and creative industries.
The patent framework will provide additional protections for rightsholders. As part of its previously announced collaboration with MIH, Universal Music Group (UMG), its affiliates, artists and songwriters and other participating rightsholders will be able to utilize the portfolio to further protect their works against unlicensed and unauthorized generative AI uses.
Daniel Drolet, CEO of Music IP Holdings (MIH) said, “Artists and songwriters shouldn’t have to choose between embracing AI and protecting their life’s work. And responsible AI companies should have a clear path to innovate. This portfolio is designed to do both: creating new opportunities for responsible innovation while giving artists, songwriters and rightsholders stronger protections and the ability to share in the value their work creates. The portfolio was developed to enable a standard that provides creators of all types the ability to generate, track and ensure new AI revenue streams while simultaneously providing strong options to manage unauthorized AI outputs.”
Andrew Sanchez, Founder and CEO of Udio said, “This is a genuine inflection point for AI and music. With MIH, we’re partnering to implement the infrastructure that protects artists and establish the guardrails that ensure AI amplifies human creativity. That work — the technology, the licensing, the partnerships — is what makes the next chapter one artists can actually build on.”
Ilya Liasun, CEO and co-founder of GRAI said, “Nobody has ever been just a listener. We drum a song on the steering wheel, cry to it in a parked car, send it to a friend at one in the morning. GRAI is building a social streaming service where music moves between people. And when someone puts something of their own into a song they love, the artist is asked, credited and paid, every time. These patents are what make that possible.”
Bill Campbell, CEO of Barefoot Media said, “Throughout every major shift in digital music, the most successful models have been built by bringing technology companies and rightsholders together around clear, practical licensing frameworks. MIH’s portfolio creates that bridge for generative AI—giving responsible innovators a path to market while helping protect artists, songwriters and the value of their work. Barefoot Media is proud to help bring this framework to the global creative and technology communities.”
Chris Horton, EVP, Strategic Technology at Universal Music Group said, “These patents are an important way to reinforce the strategy we believe will play a critical role in the next era of music: embracing ethical innovation that puts artists and songwriters at the center, with greater agency, influence and value-chain participation for the creative community. We are thrilled to join MIH, music companies, and responsible technology enterprises in building an AI music ecosystem that works for everyone, especially the creative forces that makes it all possible.”
Media Contact:
David Schwarz, press@musiciprights.com, (202) 905-6614
Ashley Hansen, ashley.hansen@forwardglobal.com
About Music IP Holdings, Inc.
Music IP Holdings, Inc. (MIH) is a pioneering intellectual property development, licensing and management firm established to advance, license and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations into the global marketplace. Formed through a strategic partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Liquidax Capital, MIH serves as the dedicated vehicle through which groundbreaking AI music technologies are being licensed and commercialized into the broader market enabling a growing ecosystem of innovators, collaborators, partners, and creators. For more information, visit www.musiciprights.com
About Udio
Udio builds extraordinary AI experiences to empower musical artists and super fans. Pairing industryleading AI technology with groundbreaking partnerships across the music industry, Udio’s mission is to champion musicians and expand how fans engage with their favorite music and artists. Udio is backed by leading lights from tech and music, including a16z, Redpoint, Hanwha, will.i.am, Steve Stoute, Kevin Wall, and many others. For more information, visit www.udio.com
About GRAI
GRAI is building a social streaming service for music. It is a place for a younger generation, where music finally moves between people rather than plays for one. Behind it is GRAI’s own music foundation model, trained on licensed data and built to understand music, not just generate audio. Every play and every change pays the artists and songwriters behind the song. GRAI was founded in 2025 by the team behind Vochi, the video-editing app acquired by Pinterest, and has raised seed funding led by Khosla Ventures, co-led by Inovo VC. For more information, visit: www.GRAI.fm
About Barefoot Media
Barefoot Media is a strategic advisory firm led by senior music industry executives who have helped shape the digital music ecosystem across major labels, streaming platforms, and emerging technology companies. Barefoot Media focuses on licensing, strategic-growth, and high-impact partnerships for innovators and companies globally. For more information, visit: www.barefootllc.com
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group exists to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com
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SOURCE Music IP Holdings
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