US music industry sues AI firms, alleging copyright infringement

Los Angeles: The music industry in the US has joined efforts to hold artificial intelligence (AI) companies accountable for copyright infringement as major record brands have filed lawsuits against two AI song generators.

The two cases were filed Monday -- one in a federal court in Boston against Suno, Inc., developer of Suno AI, and the other in New York against Uncharted Labs, Inc., developer of Udio AI.

The plaintiffs in the two cases include Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records, according to the complaints.

"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," said Mitch Glazier, chairman and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in a statement.

Both cases seek injunctions barring the AI companies from infringing plaintiffs' copyrighted sound recordings and damages for the infringements that have already occurred, according to the RIAA.

The core of the lawsuits revolves around the alleged unauthorized use of sound recordings to create new music through AI algorithms. These technologies, designed to mimic and generate music in the style of popular artists, have raised concerns among musicians, songwriters, and producers about the protection of their creative works in the digital age.

The RIAA argues that by using these recordings without proper licensing or compensation, Suno AI and Udio AI are depriving artists of their rightful earnings and control over their music.

In March, Tennessee became the first US state to pass legislation to protect songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. The bill goes into effect on July 1.

In April, more than 200 artists signed an open letter submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance, calling on AI developers, technology companies, platforms, and digital music services to stop using AI to infringe upon the rights of human artists.