Major U.S. record labels are suing two AI music startups, alleging their products constitute mass copyright infringement.
The lawsuits are the latest effort by content creators to challenge whether the training and operation of generative AI systems fall under "fair use" of copyrighted works.
The cases, filed on Monday in federal court, target Suno, developer of Suno AI, and Uncharted Labs, developer of Udio AI. Suno is being sued in Massachusetts, while Uncharted Labs faces charges in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs include Sony Music Entertainment, UMG, and Warner Records, covering multiple genres, styles, and eras of music.
The record labels seek declarations that the services infringed on copyrighted recordings, injunctions to prevent further infringement and monetary damages.
"The music community has embraced AI, and we are already partnering and collaborating with responsible developers," said Mitch Glazier, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America. "But we can only succeed if developers are willing to work together with us."
On the other hand, Suno's CEO, Mikey Shulman, defended their technology. "Our technology is transformative; it is designed to generate completely new outputs, not to memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content," Shulman stated. "That is why we don't allow user prompts referencing specific artists."
These lawsuits are similar to actions taken by authors, newspaper publishers, and artists, who argue that generative AI systems infringe on copyrights during their training and output phases. Leading AI companies claim their systems engage in legally protected "fair use," but courts have yet to make definitive rulings on this issue. The stakes for both sides are significant.