Sony, Universal, and Warner Records sue AI firms over music copyright

Major record labels Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records filed lawsuits against AI companies Suno and Udio, accusing them of widespread copyright infringement. The lawsuits, filed in New York against Udio and in Massachusetts against Suno, claim that these companies used the labels’ recordings without permission to train their music-generating AI systems. This alleged misuse enables the AI to produce music that competes with and diminishes the value of human artists’ work.

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman defended their technology, stating it generates entirely new outputs rather than copying existing content. Udio representatives did not comment on the lawsuits. The complaints allege that the AI systems can replicate elements of iconic songs and create vocals indistinguishable from famous artists like Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen.

The record labels seek statutory damages of up to $150,000 per song, citing Suno’s copying of 662 songs and Udio’s copying of 1,670. This marks the first legal action against music-generating AI, following similar lawsuits from authors and news outlets against text-based AI models. Suno and Udio, who have recently raised substantial funding, are accused of being evasive about the material used to train their systems, which the labels claim would reveal extensive copyright infringement.

Mitch Glazier, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, criticised unlicensed services like Suno and Udio for exploiting artists’ work without consent or compensation, hindering the progress of genuinely innovative AI.