Suno AI announced it hit 2 million paid subscribers and $300 million in annual recurring revenue on February 27, 2026—a 50% quarterly jump from $200 million in November 2025. The AI music generator, which creates full songs from text prompts in 30 seconds, now proves what the music industry feared most: AI can monetize creative work at massive scale. This success arrived just three days after artist rights groups launched a “Say No to Suno” campaign, and while lawsuits from Sony Music and Universal Music Group grind forward. The industry’s nightmare isn’t coming. It’s here, and it’s profitable.
The Numbers That Changed Everything
Suno’s growth is brutal for anyone betting against AI music. Two million paid subscribers at $10 to $30 per month. Three hundred million in ARR. A customer base that doubled in three months and 100 million total users who’ve generated songs. CEO Mikey Shulman frames this as democratizing creativity, but the blunt version? Two million people are paying for AI to replace what musicians spent decades mastering.
The Artist Backlash Grows Louder
On February 24, artist rights groups published an open letter titled “Say No to Suno.” The signatories—Music Artist Coalition, European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, and artists including David C. Lowery—accused Suno of scraping music without permission: “Suno built its business on our backs, scraping the world’s cultural output without permission, then competing against the very works exploited.” Record labels allege Suno used “stream-ripping” to download copyrighted music from YouTube, bypassing encryption to train its models. The artist groups call this “hijacking” that “floods platforms with AI slop and dilutes the royalty pools of legitimate artists.”
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: those artists are right about the training data, and Suno is right that people want this product. Both things are true simultaneously.
Legal Battles Won’t Stop Growth
Sony Music and Universal Music Group sued Suno in June 2024 for copyright infringement. Warner Music settled in November 2024, requiring Suno to launch “licensed models” in 2026. Sony and UMG’s cases remain active. The lawsuits haven’t slowed Suno’s business—50% quarterly revenue growth while lawyers argue in court. By the time courts rule, Suno will either be too big to stop or will have negotiated settlements from a position of strength.
Suno’s recent hire signals which way this is heading. On February 23, the company brought in Jeremy Sirota—former CEO of Merlin, an independent music licensing agency—as Chief Commercial Officer. You don’t hire a licensing veteran unless you’re planning to cut deals, not fight forever.
Real Careers Built on AI Music
Telisha Jones, a 31-year-old poet in Mississippi, used Suno to turn her poetry into the viral R&B song “How Was I Supposed to Know.” She signed a $3 million record deal with Hallwood Media. Eighty-seven percent of surveyed artists now use AI in their music process. Musicians demo songs without expensive studios. Content creators generate background tracks for YouTube without copyright headaches. The use cases are real, and they’re scaling.
Suno Dominates Audio
While OpenAI owns text and Midjourney owns images, Suno dominates audio. The AI music market hit $2.8 billion in 2026, and Suno leads by revenue and subscribers. Its v5 model delivers vocals that sound like actual humans, with natural vibrato and phrasing. Generation time? Thirty seconds. That’s why 100 million people have used it, and 2 million are paying monthly subscriptions.
The Industry Adapts
Streaming platforms tightened policies in response. Spotify now requires AI artists to register model identity, disclose training data sources, and prove consent from rights-holders. Apple Music allows AI music only from verified creators with data consent documentation. Licensing models are emerging: Universal Music Group and Udio announced an artist opt-in platform for 2026, where musicians voluntarily authorize their work for AI use in exchange for compensation.
This mirrors how the music industry adapted to sampling in the 90s. First: outrage and lawsuits. Then: licensing frameworks and royalty splits. The same pattern is playing out with AI, just faster.
What Comes Next
Suno’s $300 million ARR proves demand exists regardless of controversies. The hiring of licensing executives, settlements, and emerging opt-in platforms point toward a hybrid model where AI music requires licensing and artist compensation. Not a ban. Not unrestricted scraping. A middle ground that took sampling decades to reach but will arrive faster for AI. The music industry’s worst fear is already happening. The best path forward isn’t resistance—it’s building licensing infrastructure fast enough to capture value from a technology that isn’t waiting for permission.
