AI music creators Suno and Udio have been hit by major lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major record labels for copyright infringement. The lawsuits mark the latest battle over generative AI and synthetic media and the debate over whether they represent original creations or an infringement of intellectual property rights.
The RIAA was joined by Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc. and Warner Records, Inc. in the lawsuits. Suno was sued in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, while Udio developer Uncharted Labs, Inc. was sued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaints allege that both companies have copied and exploited copyrighted sound recordings without permission.
Both Suno and Udio translate text messages into music, just as other tools can create images or videos based on a user's suggestion. While there are many other music AI developers, Suno and Udio were likely chosen due to their relatively successful products. Suno AI is part of the Microsoft Copilot generative AI assistant, while Udio went viral for the creation of “BBL Drizzy.” Recording agencies say that music generated by AI models is not original but simply a reworking of copyrighted material. In particular, the groups suing are making an effort to appear that they are not against the technology, but simply how those companies use it.
“The music community has embraced AI and we are already partnering and collaborating with responsible developers to create sustainable AI tools focused on human creativity that put artists and songwriters in charge,” said RIAA President and CEO, Mitch Glazier, in a statement. “But we can only be successful if developers are willing to work with us. “Unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it's 'fair' to copy an artist's life's work and exploit it for their own profit without consent or payment, frustrate the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”
Press pause
This could be pivotal in the fight over music AI, which has been heating up for some time. The viral deepfakes of Ghostwriter and its multiple synthetic songs with clones of real artists' voices attest to the growing interest, and the danger, according to the RIAA, of this technology.
TikTok and YouTube have also been drawn into the fray. Earlier this year, music by UMG artists, including Taylor Swift, was temporarily removed from TikTok due to unresolved licensing issues, partly driven by concerns about AI-generated content. In response to similar issues, YouTube introduced a system last fall to remove AI-generated music at the request of rights holders. In May, Sony Music issued warnings to hundreds of technology companies over unauthorized use of copyrighted material, signaling the industry's proactive stance against unlicensed AI-generated music.
The RIAA wants the courts to rule that Suno and Udio infringed its copyright, make them pay for it, and stop them from doing so. As expected, the defendant companies do not agree.
“Our technology is transformative, designed to generate entirely new results, not to memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content,” Suno CEO Mikey Shulman said in a statement. “We would have loved to explain this to the corporate record labels that filed this lawsuit (and in fact, we attempted to do so), but instead of having a good faith discussion, they have reverted to their old lawyer-led playbook. . Suno is designed for new music, new uses and new musicians. “We value originality.”
The lawsuit will not immediately affect Suno and Udio and their customers, unless the courts rule unlikely. But a legal battle at this level suggests any easy compromise is out of the question. However, the measure may accelerate the timeline for creating a regulatory framework and the corresponding laws that support it.
Depending on how it happens, people using Suno, Udio, and other AI audio creators may have to remove music from anything they've published. I wouldn't bet that everything in the current AI music scene remains the same, but the technology will almost certainly continue to exist regardless of demand, just perhaps with new controls and the official approval of any song to train AI models.
