Udio has selected content-security firm BuyDRM to protect the streaming of its AI-generated music.
The Austin-based company will provide multi-DRM support across Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay, and Microsoft PlayReady through its KeyOS MultiKey Service.
The deal, announced on July 14, forms part of the technical infrastructure behind Udio‘s move from copyright defendant to licensed music platform.
According to BuyDRM, the MultiKey Service is designed to secure streaming, protect digital assets, and deliver consistent playback to users worldwide.
Andrew Sanchez, Co-Founder and CEO of Udio, said: “Security, reliability, and scalability are essential as more people use Udio to create and experience music in entirely new ways.”
“BuyDRM‘s MultiKey Service provides the flexible and trusted protection we need to support our rapidly growing catalog of AI-generated music while maintaining a seamless experience for our users.”
Andrew Sanchez, Udio
“BuyDRM‘s MultiKey Service provides the flexible and trusted protection we need to support our rapidly growing catalog of AI-generated music while maintaining a seamless experience for our users.”
Christopher Levy, CEO of BuyDRM, added: “Udio represents an important new generation of music platforms, using artificial intelligence to make music creation more accessible and interactive.”
“We’re proud to support Udio with MultiKey Service, providing the secure content-delivery and scalable DRM infrastructure needed for this emerging business model.”
“We’re proud to support Udio with MultiKey Service, providing the secure content-delivery and scalable DRM infrastructure needed for this emerging business model.”
Christopher Levy, BuyDRM
The BuyDRM deal lands as Udio completes a shift from copyright defendant to licensed industry partner.
In June 2024, the RIAA, on behalf of Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group, sued Udio and rival platform Suno for “mass infringement” of copyright.
That litigation began to unwind in October 2025, when Universal Music Group settled its case and agreed to build a licensed AI music platform with Udio.
Warner Music Group settled in November 2025, followed by independent licensing body Merlin in January 2026 and publisher Kobalt in April 2026.
Distributor Believe confirmed its own licensing deal later that month, and in June the National Music Publishers’ Association announced what it called the first industry-wide licensing deal with a major AI music company.
Sony Music remains the only major music company yet to reach a deal with Udio.
A New York federal judge has denied Sony’s request to add 30,442 sound recordings to its copyright infringement lawsuit against the platform, keeping the case at 333 works.
With document production set to close on August 25, both sides are expected to move for summary judgment on whether Udio‘s training amounts to fair use.
The BuyDRM partnership fits the framework that those licensing deals require.
Udio has embraced the “walled garden” model championed by Universal Music Group, in which AI-generated music cannot be downloaded or distributed beyond the platform.
When it settled, UMG said Udio‘s creations would be controlled within a walled garden and the service amended with fingerprinting, filtering, and other measures before the launch of an updated product.
Udio‘s forthcoming subscription service, reported to be called Starstruck, is being built on the back of those agreements.
According to a report from music-tech research firm Water & Music, Sanchez has described three layers of enforcement for the walled garden: stream encryption to make ripping harder, inaudible watermarking on every output, and fingerprinting to let distributors and streaming services block uploaded tracks that match Starstruck creations.
BuyDRM‘s MultiKey Service supplies the first of those layers, encrypting streams across the three major DRM systems.
Ahead of the launch, Udio has said it will roll out “expanded protections and other measures designed to safeguard the rights of artists and songwriters.”
BuyDRM framed the deal in similar terms, saying it reinforces Udio‘s commitment to building a “responsible AI music ecosystem.”
BuyDRM was founded in 2001 and is owned by OVHcloud, the European cloud-computing group, which acquired the firm in July 2021.
Its client base is concentrated in video and live sports, spanning F1 TV, OneFootball, NBC Sports, Samsung TV+, and Roku.
Udio extends the company’s push into music, an area where its clients already include SoundCloud.
In April, streaming and live-events platform Mostly Music also selected BuyDRM to secure its content.
For Udio, the deal points to a commercial service built to scale.
BuyDRM said the implementation would help turn “generative music technology into a dependable global service,” mirroring Udio‘s plan to convert a free-to-use AI tool into a paid, subscription-based platform.
Speaking to MBW earlier this year, Sanchez said: “Partnership with the music industry is not incidental to what we do, but fundamental.”Music Business Worldwide
