As reported by Music Business Worldwide, Believe founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie announced Thursday (April 30) that Believe and its global self-release platform TuneCore have deployed generative AI detection technology that is now “99% reliable” in identifying the specific AI model and platform used to create any given track. When that model or platform is identified as unlicensed, Believe and TuneCore will automatically block the content from distribution. The policy is live. Artists using platforms Believe classifies as “pirate studios,” a category that currently includes Suno, will find their tracks rejected at the point of submission. Believe has also written formally to major DSPs calling on them to deploy equivalent detection tools, with Ladegaillerie warning that any distributor or streaming service continuing to push out unlicensed AI content is sitting on “a litigation time bomb.”
The announcement arrives on the same day Believe confirmed two new music licensing agreements: one with ElevenLabs, the AI voice and audio generation company, and one with Udio, the AI music platform that settled copyright claims with UMG and Warner Music Group in October 2025. Those deals add Believe to a growing list of industry partners for both platforms. ElevenLabs has also licensed with Kobalt and Merlin. Udio now counts UMG, Warner, Merlin, Kobalt, and Believe among its partners. Suno, however, is licensed by Warner Music Group but remains the target of active copyright litigation from UMG and Sony Music Entertainment, and has no deal in place with Believe. The Music Universe The distinction Believe is drawing is between platforms that have pursued industry-standard licensing and those that have not, with Suno falling into the latter category by Believe’s definition despite its Warner deal.
That framing has a real complication baked in. Music Ally noted that Suno does have a licensing deal with one major label, while Udio, which Believe just licensed, does not yet have a deal with Sony Music. There is a legitimate debate about how many licensing agreements an AI firm needs before it crosses from “pirate studio” to acceptable partner. The Music Universe Ladegaillerie’s answer appears to be that the question is less about how many deals an AI company has signed and more about whether it remains in active litigation with major rights holders. By that standard, Suno’s ongoing fight with UMG and Sony keeps it in the blocked category regardless of its Warner arrangement.
The scale of the problem Believe is responding to puts the policy in context. Deezer reported that 75,000 fully AI-generated tracks are now being uploaded to its platform daily, representing 44% of all new music delivered. A recent analysis of 1,551 AI-made recordings found that more than 90% of the most popular AI tracks uploaded to DSPs were created on Suno, and over 75% of them were distributed by DistroKid. Ladegaillerie acknowledged the paradox in the numbers: despite the volume of AI uploads, AI-generated content accounts for “less than 0.5%” of total streams across the industry. “Numbers like that are the best illustration I have ever seen of the real role of the music industry: curation and artist development first and foremost,” he said. His conclusion is not that the problem is small enough to ignore but that it is being used to distort investor sentiment toward music companies in ways that are disproportionate to its actual consumption impact.
