Record Labels Sue AI Music Generators Suno and Udio for Copyright Infringement

Boston, Massachusetts United States of America
Artists signed open letter in April 2024 calling on AI developers to respect copyright protections.
Lawsuits allege companies used unlicensed sound recordings to train their systems without consent.
Lawsuits seek injunctions to cease further infringement and damages of nearly $350 million.
Record labels argue Suno and Udio copied copyrighted sound recordings en masse and ingested them into AI systems.
Record labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music have filed copyright infringement lawsuits against AI music generators Suno and Udio.
RIAA Chairman Mitch Glazier: unlicensed services threaten harm to recording artists, labels, music industry.
Suno CEO Mikey Shulman states technology generates new outputs, not memorize pre-existing content.
Record Labels Sue AI Music Generators Suno and Udio for Copyright Infringement

Big record labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music, have filed copyright infringement lawsuits against AI music generators Suno and Udio. The lawsuits allege that the companies used unlicensed sound recordings to train their systems without consent.

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman stated that the technology is designed to generate completely new outputs, not memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content. However, record labels argue that Suno and Udio copied their copyrighted sound recordings en masse and ingested them into their AI systems.

The lawsuits seek injunctions that could force the companies to cease further infringement, which may include the destruction of models taught on their intellectual property, and damages of nearly $350 million.

RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier stated that these unlicensed services threaten enduring and irreparable harm to recording artists, record labels, and the music industry. He added that responsible developers can assist humans in creating new music while respecting copyright protections.

The music industry has been collaborating with responsible AI developers to build sustainable tools that put artists and songwriters in charge. However, unlicensed services like Suno and Udio exploit an artist's work without consent or pay, potentially reducing the quality of new music available to consumers and diminishing our shared culture.

In April 2024, more than 200 artists signed an open letter organized by the non-profit Artist Rights Alliance calling on AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.

The lawsuits against Suno and Udio come as AI continues to make significant strides in the music industry. In March 2024, Tennessee became the first U.S. state to pass legislation protecting songwriters, performers, and other music industry professionals against potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

The following are facts from various sources regarding this issue:


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Confidence

91%

Doubts
  • Are there any counterarguments from the defendants?
  • Is it confirmed that Suno and Udio used copyrighted sound recordings without consent?

Sources

88%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Viral ‘BBL Drizzy’ AI Drake diss track company gets sued

CNN News Site: In-Depth Reporting and Analysis with Some Financial Conflicts and Sensational Language Samantha Murphy Monday, 24 June 2024 17:17
  • Unique Points
    • RIAA filed two copyright infringement cases against AI companies Suno and Uncharted Labs for using unlicensed sound recordings to train their systems without consent.
    • Udio was founded last year with a goal to make it 'easy for anyone to create emotionally resonant music in an instant'.
    • RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier stated that the lawsuits are necessary to reinforce copyright protections and end the infringement.
    • 10,000,000 users have generated music files using Suno’s platform and about 2,000,0 streams have been brought in. Some of these digital music files have been released to the public and compete with copyrighted sound recordings that enabled their creation.
  • Accuracy
    • Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records are leading the lawsuits.
    • Suno raised $125 million in funding last month and uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT for lyrics and title development.
    • Udio was founded last year with a goal to make it ‘easy for anyone to create emotionally resonant music in an instant.’
  • Deception (50%)
    The article reports on lawsuits against two AI companies for copyright infringement without disclosing that the quotes from the RIAA CEO are from a press release. This is an example of selective reporting and emotional manipulation as it presents only one side of the story without providing context or balance.
    • Meanwhile, Suno raised $125 million in funding last month. The platform, which allows users to create songs with only a few prompts, relies on OpenAI’s ChatGPT for lyrics and title development.
    • The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed two copyright infringement cases against AI companies Suno and Uncharted Labs, the developer behind Udio, for training their AI models with the labels’ unlicensed sound recordings.
    • RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement that the lawsuits are ‘necessary to reinforce the most basic rules of the road for the responsible, ethical, and lawful development of generative AI systems and to bring Suno’s and Udio’s blatant infringement to an end.’
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

77%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

As AI Marches on Music Industry, Record Labels Counter With $350M Lawsuits In Assertive Move

The Hollywood Reporter Winston Cho Monday, 24 June 2024 22:17
  • Unique Points
    • Record labels have filed lawsuits against Suno AI and Uncharted Labs Inc., the developer of Udio AI, accusing them of illegally powering their AI systems on massive troves of copyrighted recordings.
    • The lawsuits seek injunctions that could force the companies to cease further infringement, which may include the destruction of models taught on their intellectual property, and damages of nearly $350 million.
    • Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music are leading the lawsuits.
    • The record labels allege that Suno and Uncharted Labs copied their copyrighted sound recordings en masse and ingested them into their AI systems.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (30%)
    The article contains selective reporting as it only mentions lawsuits against AI companies by record labels and ignores similar actions taken by other creative industries. It also uses emotional manipulation through phrases like 'aggressive stance' and 'existential threat'. The author also makes editorializing statements such as 'the losers did exactly what Suno and Udio are doing now.'
    • The record companies allege that Suno and Uncharted Labs copied their copyrighted sound recordings en masse and ingested them into their AI systems.
    • These services are engaging in massive theft to train their models and flood playlists with machine imitations, infringing on creators’ rights and devaluing art itself.
    • The labels warn that the AI tools have the potential to upend the market for music sampling.
  • Fallacies (80%)
    The author makes several arguments in this article, some of which contain informal fallacies. The most notable fallacy is an appeal to emotion when the author quotes the RIAA spokesperson stating 'Winners of the streaming era worked cooperatively with artists and rightsholders to properly license music. The losers did exactly what Suno and Udio are doing now.' This statement is intended to elicit an emotional response from readers, rather than providing logical reasoning or evidence for why the record labels' actions are justified. Another fallacy can be found in the author's use of dichotomous depiction when describing the record companies as 'the winners of the streaming era' and Suno and Udio as 'the losers.' This oversimplification fails to acknowledge that both parties have valid perspectives and interests at stake. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric, such as referring to Suno and Udio's actions as 'massive infringement,' 'illegal,' and 'unethical.' These terms are subjective and do not accurately reflect the legal or ethical complexities of the situation. However, no formal fallacies were identified in this article.
    • ]The losers did exactly what Suno and Udio are doing now.[
    • massive infringement of recorded music - in large part constituting the creative works of SAG-AFTRA Members is illegal, unethical, and must not remain unchecked.
  • Bias (80%)
    The author expresses a clear bias towards the record labels in this article. He presents their perspective as if it is fact and portrays the AI companies as 'losers' who are 'indiscriminately hoovering troves of data to power their technology'. The author also uses language that depicts the AI-generated music as a threat to human-made tracks and the market for music samples. He does not provide any counterargument or perspective from the AI companies, making it clear that he is siding with the record labels.
    • By refusing to license content they’re profiting off of, Sudo and Uncharted Labs threaten to eliminate the existing market for licensing sound recordings, as well as the future market for licensing sound recordings to generative AI companies.
      • The losers did exactly what Suno and Udio are doing now.
        • These services are engaging in massive theft to train their models and flood playlists with machine imitations, infringing on creators’ rights and devaluing art itself.
        • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication

        78%

        The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
        (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

        A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

        US Record Labels Sue AI Music Generators Suno and Udio for Copyright Infringement

        Wired Magazine Kate Knibbs Monday, 24 June 2024 15:00
        • Unique Points
          • Music labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Group have filed lawsuits against AI music generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement.
          • Suno did not respond to a request for comment, while Udio’s parent company Uncharted Inc. also did not immediately respond.
          • Suno CEO Mikey Shulman stated that the technology is designed to generate completely new outputs, not memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content.
        • Accuracy
          • The music labels claim that Suno and Udio generated songs that bear a striking resemblance to copyrighted work from artists including ABBA and Jason Derulo.
          • RIAA represents major record labels including Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings and Warner Records.
        • Deception (30%)
          The article by Kate Knibbs contains selective reporting and emotional manipulation. The author only reports details that support the music labels' position, implying that Suno and Udio's AI-generated music is a direct threat to the record industry. The author also uses emotive language, such as 'declared war,' 'massive scale,' and 'exploit for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI.'
          • The music industry has officially declared war on Suno and Udio, two of the most prominent AI music generators.
          • 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 pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.
          • It also offers a side-by-side comparison of music and lyrics.
          • The companies have not publicly disclosed what they trained their generators on. Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive who now runs the ethical AI nonprofit Fairly Trained, has written extensively about his experiments with Suno and Udio; Newton-Rex found that he could generate music that ‘bears a striking resemblance to copyright songs.’
          • The plaintiffs seek damages up to $150,000 per work infringed.
          • One example provided in the lawsuit describes how the labels generated songs extremely similar to Chuck Berry’s 1958 rock hit ‘Johnny B. Goode’ in Suno by using prompts like ‘1950s rock and roll, rhythm & blues, 12 bar blues, rockabilly, energetic male vocalist, singer guitarist.’ One song almost exactly replicated the ‘Go, Johnny, go’ chorus.
        • Fallacies (85%)
          The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting Mitch Glazier, the Recording Industry Association of America chair and CEO. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating that Suno and Udio are trying to conceal 'the full scope of their infringement' and that they are 'exploiting' copyrighted work for their own profit without consent or pay.
          • >The music industry has officially declared war on Suno and Udio, two of the most prominent AI music generators. A group of music labels including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Group has filed lawsuits in US federal court on Monday morning alleging copyright infringement on a 'massive scale'. The plaintiffs seek damages up to $150,000 per work infringed.
          • , Recording Industry Association of America chair and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a press release.
          • 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 pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.
          • The companies have not publicly disclosed what they trained their generators on. Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive who now runs the ethical AI nonprofit Fairly Trained, has written extensively about his experiments with Suno and Udio; Newton-Rex found that he could generate music that ‘bears a striking resemblance to copyright songs.’
          • One example provided in the lawsuit describes how the labels generated songs extremely similar to Chuck Berry’s 1958 rock hit ‘Johnny B. Goode’ in Suno by using prompts like ‘1950s rock and roll, rhythm & blues, 12 bar blues, rockabilly, energetic male vocalist, singer guitarist’, along with snippets of the song’s lyrics.
          • One song almost exactly replicated the ‘Go, Johnny, go’ chorus; the plaintiffs attached side-by-side transcriptions of the scores and argued that such overlap was only possible because Suno had trained on copyrighted work.
          • Many leading generative AI companies are under intense scrutiny for how they train their tools. It’s common for these companies to argue that they are shielded by the ‘fair use’ doctrine, which permits infringement in certain circumstances. It remains to be seen whether the court system will agree; major players like OpenAI are already facing a host of copyright infringement lawsuits from artists, writers, programmers, and other rights holders.
          • The music industry is still haunted by the specter of Napster, and the rise of AI-generated music introduces several possible competitive threats to their business models; right now, for example, nobody at a label sees royalties for an AI-generated song from Sudo or Udio, even if it resembles their work.
          • The complaints underline a growing consensus in the music industry that licensing is the only proper way forward. ‘There is room for AI and human creators to forge a sustainable, complementary relationship’, the Suno complaint says. ‘This can and should be achieved through the well-established mechanism of free-market licensing that ensures proper respect for copyright owners.’
        • Bias (80%)
          The author expresses a clear bias towards the music labels and against Suno and Udio. She quotes the Recording Industry Association of America chair and CEO Mitch Glazier making negative statements about Suno and Udio, without providing any counterargument or perspective from the accused parties. The author also uses language that depicts Suno and Udio as trying to conceal their infringement, despite not presenting any evidence of this claim.
          • Many leading generative AI companies are under intense scrutiny for how they train their tools. It’s common for these companies to argue that they are shielded by the ‘fair use’ doctrine, which permits infringement in certain circumstances. It remains to be seen whether the court system will agree; major players like OpenAI are already facing a host of copyright infringement lawsuits from artists, writers, programmers, and other rights holders.
            • One example provided in the lawsuit describes how the labels generated songs extremely similar to Chuck Berry’s 1958 rock hit ‘Johnny B. Goode’ in Suno by using prompts like ‘1950s rock and roll, rhythm & blues, 12 bar blues, rockabilly, energetic male vocalist, singer guitarist.’ along with snippets of the song’s lyrics.
              • The companies have not publicly disclosed what they trained their generators on. Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive who now runs the ethical AI nonprofit Fairly Trained, has written extensively about his experiments with Suno and Udio; Newton-Rex found that he could generate music that ‘bears a striking resemblance to copyright songs.’
                • The complaints underline a growing consensus in the music industry that licensing is the only proper way forward.
                  • The music industry has officially declared war on Suno and Udio, two of the most prominent AI music generators.
                    • The music industry is still haunted by the specter of Napster, and the rise of AI-generated music introduces several possible competitive threats to their business models; right now, for example, nobody at a label sees royalties for an AI-generated song from Sudo or Udio, even if it resembles their work.
                      • 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 pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.
                      • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication

                      88%

                      The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                      (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                      A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                      Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

                      Bloomberg News Now Tuesday, 25 June 2024 01:12
                      • Unique Points
                        • ]The lawsuits aim to bring an end to the defendants' blatant infringement and reinforce ethical development of generative AI systems that respect artists' rights.[/1]
                        • RIAA filed two copyright infringement cases against AI companies Suno and Uncharted Labs for using unlicensed sound recordings to train their systems without consent.
                        • [2] The music industry is concerned about the potential for AI-generated music to saturate the market with machine-generated content that could compete with and cheapen genuine sound recordings.
                      • Accuracy
                        • RIAA represents major record labels including Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings and Warner Records.
                        • Suno raised $125 million in funding last month and uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT for lyrics and title development.
                        • Udio was founded last year with a goal to make it ‘easy for anyone to create emotionally resonant music in an instant.’.
                      • Deception (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Fallacies (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Bias (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication

                      95%

                      The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                      (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                      A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                      Music record labels sue AI song-generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement

                      The Associated Press News Monday, 24 June 2024 18:16
                      • Unique Points
                        • Suno and Udio are being sued by record labels for copyright infringement.
                        • RIAA announced the lawsuits on behalf of record labels Monday.
                        • AI music startups are accused of exploiting recorded works of artists without consent or payment.
                      • Accuracy
                        • Big record companies are suing AI music startups Suno and Udio for copyright infringement.
                        • Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records are among the labels bringing lawsuits against Suno AI in Boston and Uncharted Labs, developer of Udio AI.
                        • AI music startups are accused of exploiting recorded works of artists like Chuck Berry and Mariah Carey without consent or payment.
                      • Deception (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Fallacies (85%)
                        The article contains a few informal fallacies and an example of inflammatory rhetoric. It also uses a quote from the RIAA CEO as evidence without specifying if it's their opinion or factual information, which could be considered a dichotomous depiction.
                        • . . . alleging that the AI music startups are exploiting the recorded works of artists from Chuck Berry to Mariah Carey.
                        • One case was filed in federal court in Boston against Suno AI, and the other in New York against Uncharted Labs, the developer of Udio AI.
                        • RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a written statement that . . .
                      • Bias (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication
                      • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                        None Found At Time Of Publication