Legal Battle Over AI Music: RIAA vs. Suno and Udio
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has initiated legal action against two AI music generators for copyright infringement. The lawsuit, backed by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group Recordings, and Warner Records, targets tech platforms Suno and Udio for allegedly infringing on copyrighted recordings at an “almost unimaginable scale,” according to Billboard.
Filed on Monday, the case seeks an injunction to prevent these companies from using copyrighted songs to train their software. The labels are also pursuing damages of up to $150,000 (£118,200) for each infringed work, Wired reports.
Despite being start-ups, Suno and Udio have emerged as leaders in AI generative music. They can create entire songs from a single word prompt. Udio is notably recognized for generating the Metro Boomin-styled Drake diss track “BBL Drizzy.”
Mitch Glazier, RIAA’s chairman and CEO, told The Guardian that the music industry is collaborating with responsible AI developers. However, he said unlicensed services like Suno and Udio claim it’s “fair” to copy and exploit an artist’s work without consent or compensation. This undermines the potential of genuinely innovative AI.
According to the major labels' lawyers, building and operating these services requires copying and ingesting massive amounts of data to train their software models. This process involved copying decades' worth of the world’s most popular sound recordings to create outputs that mimic genuine human sound recordings.
Suno’s CEO, Mikey Shulman, told Billboard that Suno’s mission is to make it possible for everyone to make music. “Our technology is transformative, designed to create entirely new outputs rather than memorizing and reproducing existing content. That's why we don't permit user prompts that mention specific artists.”
“We attempted to explain this to the corporate record labels that filed the lawsuit. Rather than engage in a good faith discussion, they reverted to their old, lawyer-driven tactics. Suno is focused on new music, new applications, and new musicians. We value originality.”
