Record labels allege massive copyright infringement by Suno and Udio, demanding $150,000 per work
- Major record labels, including Sony Music and Universal Music Group, have filed lawsuits against AI start-ups Suno and Udio for copyright infringement.
- The lawsuits accuse the AI firms of stealing music to create similar works and seek compensation of $150,000 per infringing work.
- The complaints argue that the AI-generated music threatens the integrity of the music industry and violates copyright laws.
In a potentially landmark case, the world’s largest record labels, including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records, have launched lawsuits against two artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups, Suno and Udio, for alleged copyright violations. The record labels claim that the software developed by these companies infringes on copyrights at an “almost unimaginable scale,” and they are seeking $150,000 per infringing work.
The Lawsuits and Allegations
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced the lawsuits on Monday, highlighting a growing wave of legal challenges from authors, news organizations, and other groups against AI firms. These lawsuits are centered on the rights of AI companies to use copyrighted material. According to the complaints filed in federal courts in Massachusetts and New York, Suno and Udio’s software allegedly steals music to generate similar works without proper licensing or compensation to the original creators.
“The use here is far from transformative, as there is no functional purpose for… [the] AI model to ingest the Copyrighted Recordings other than to spit out new, competing music files,” the complaints state. The lawsuits mention specific examples, such as the AI-generated song “Prancing Queen,” which is claimed to be indistinguishable from ABBA’s recordings, and other songs like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” and The Temptations’ “My Girl.”
Background and Context
Suno, based in Massachusetts, released its first product last year and has since attracted over 10 million users. The company charges a monthly fee for its services and recently raised $125 million from investors, including a partnership with Microsoft. Udio, also known as Uncharted Labs, is backed by prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. It gained rapid popularity with its app, which was used to create the viral parody track “BBL Drizzy.”
AI firms like Suno and Udio have argued that their use of copyrighted material falls under the fair use doctrine, which allows for the use of copyrighted works without a license under certain conditions, such as satire or news. Supporters of this view compare the machine learning processes of AI to the way humans learn by reading, hearing, and seeing previous works. However, the record labels argue that the AI-generated music is not transformative and serves no purpose other than to create new, competing music files.
Industry Reactions and Implications
The music industry has been increasingly vocal about the potential threats posed by AI-generated content. Just a few months ago, around 200 artists, including Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj, signed a letter calling for an end to the “predatory” use of AI in the music industry. The record labels’ lawsuits underscore the broader concerns that AI-generated music could displace genuine human artistry and disrupt the music ecosystem.
“The motive is brazenly commercial and threatens to displace the genuine human artistry that is at the heart of copyright protection,” the record labels stated in their lawsuits. They emphasized that AI companies must “play by the rules” and warned against the “wholesale theft” of recordings, which they argue endangers the entire music industry.
The outcome of these lawsuits could set a significant precedent for the use of AI in creative fields and the protection of intellectual property. As AI technology continues to advance, the balance between innovation and copyright protection will remain a contentious and closely watched issue. The cases against Suno and Udio are not just about financial compensation but also about maintaining the integrity of artistic creation in the age of AI.