Warner Music Group has been named to TIME‘s sixth annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, with the magazine citing the major music company’s approach to AI as the basis for its inclusion.
WMG was recognized for what TIME described as a strategy that balances protection with innovation, ensuring artists and songwriters benefit from the technology’s possibilities.
The list, published on Thursday (April 30), highlights 100 companies that TIME says are making an extraordinary impact around the world.
Others on this year’s list include Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Tencent, TikTok, Shopify, and Discord. The full list is available on TIME‘s website.
In its write-up of WMG‘s inclusion, TIME wrote: “A similar threat looms today around generative AI, which many artists and industry workers worry will devalue the output of human-made music, among other copyright concerns.”
The magazine added that WMG “aims to learn from the past” — drawing a parallel with the piracy crisis of the early 2000s.
TIME continued: “Instead of boycotting the new tech, CEO Robert Kyncl says WMG is on a mission to shape it.”
Kyncl told the magazine: “AI is a fast-growing phenomenon. It’s really important that companies like us stand up for artists and songwriters — do it early, and do it together with AI companies.”
According to WMG, the recognition follows a series of partnerships with AI companies — including Suno, Udio, Klay, and Stability AI — as well as its advocacy for the NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan US federal bill that would protect the voice and likeness of all individuals from unauthorized AI-generated re-creations.
TIME noted that WMG‘s approach is built on three pillars: (i) lobbying for the NO FAKES Act; (ii) forging partnerships with AI music companies to ensure their tools are trained on licensed music; and (iii) installing clauses in each deal that give artists and songwriters the choice to opt in or out of any use of their name, image, likeness, or voice in AI-generated songs.
Kyncl added: “You have to care about the industry as a whole. That’s why we do it.”
The inclusion caps a period in which WMG has been among the most active of the major music companies in striking AI licensing deals.
In November, WMG settled its copyright lawsuit with Suno and struck a licensing deal with the AI music generator, which the companies called a “first-of-its-kind partnership.”
The same month, WMG also settled with Udio and signed a licensing agreement for a next-generation AI music platform, as well as announcing a partnership with Stability AI.
The NO FAKES Act was reintroduced in Congress in April 2025 with the backing of all three major music companies, as well as tech companies including Google, Amazon, and OpenAI.
Kyncl has been one of the most prominent music industry voices in support of the legislation, having testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2024.
Separately, Spotify was named to TIME‘s inaugural TIME100 Companies: Industry Leaders list — a new expansion of the TIME100 franchise published alongside the main list — as one of the 10 Most Influential Entertainment Companies of 2026.
Spotify‘s entry focused on the growth of its video podcasting business rather than its music streaming operations. WMG also appeared on the entertainment industry leaders list in addition to the main TIME100.
On WMG‘s most recent earnings call, in February, Kyncl reiterated the “non-negotiable principles” underpinning the company’s AI strategy, telling analysts: “Our partners must commit to license models; the economic terms must properly reflect the value of music; and artists and songwriters must have a choice to opt in to any use of their name, image, likeness and voice in new AI-generated recordings.”Music Business Worldwide
