The three major record labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group, have filed lawsuits against artificial intelligence startups Suno and Udio, alleging copyright infringement.
Filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the lawsuits claim that Suno and Udio used the labels' recordings to train their AI models without permission “on an almost unimaginable scale.”
Both Suno and Udio allow users to create original songs based on text prompts, generating a combination of lyrics, vocals and instruments. In particular, the latter was accustomed to creates the viral hit “BBL Drizzy.”
The lawsuits claim that the songs generated by Suno and Udio sound the same as “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys, “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, “My Girl” by The Temptations and “American Idiot” by Green Day, among others. The voices of Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson were also cited as examples of copyright infringement.
“Build and operate [these services] requires from the beginning copying and ingesting massive amounts of data to 'train' a software 'model' to generate results,” the lawsuit says. “For [these services]This process involved copying decades of the world's most popular sound recordings and then ingesting those copies. [to] generate results that mimic the qualities of genuine human sound recordings.”
In a press release, RIAA Legal Director Ken Doroshow added: “These are clear cases of copyright infringement involving the unlicensed copying of sound recordings on a mass scale. “Suno and Udio are attempting to hide the full extent of their infringement rather than putting their services on a solid, legal footing.”
In addition to prohibiting the companies from training their models with the copyrighted songs, the lawsuit seeks damages of up to $150 per work and other fees.
It's worth noting that Suno investor Antonio Rodríguez admitted that the company does not have licenses for the music he trains to in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “Honestly, if we had deals with record labels when this company started, I probably wouldn't have invested in it,” he said. “I think they needed to make this product without limitations.”
Universal, in particular, began cracking down on potentially infringing content created with generative AI last year, when a fake Drake and The Weekend song went viral. He was also part of a lawsuit last October over the use of copyrighted lyrics. More recently, concerns about AI were a sticking point in its negotiations with TikTok for a new licensing deal.
In April, the nonprofit Artist Rights Alliance published an open letter calling for responsible AI music practices. It was signed by more than 200 artists, including Billie Eilish, Greta Van Fleet and Pearl Jam.
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