AI startups Suno and Udio argue that using music to train AI is 'fair use'



Suno and Udio , which develop text-based music generation AI services, have argued in a copyright lawsuit filed by major record companies that training models using copyrighted songs constitutes fair use and that the music industry is simply misusing intellectual property to crush its competitors.

The Future of Music – Suno
https://suno.com/blog/future-of-music

Suno & Udio to RIAA: Your Music is Copyrighted, You Can't Copyright Styles * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/suno-udio-to-riaa-your-music-is-copyrighted-you-cant-copyright-styles-240801/

The lawsuit was filed in June 2024 by major record companies Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Records, and Universal Music Group, through the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), against Suno and Udio for copyright infringement.

Music generation AI services 'Suno' and 'Udio' sued by major music companies such as Sony, Warner and Universal for copyright infringement - GIGAZINE



The RIAA and major music companies claim that Suno and Udio have mass-produced and used copyrighted recordings without permission. The RIAA pointed out that 'it's clear what these services are trained on: they copied Plaintiffs' copyrighted recordings en masse and fed them into their AI models. These products work only by copying vast amounts of recordings by artists of all genres, styles, and eras. These services are not exempt from copyright law, which protects human copyright. Like other market participants, they may not reproduce copyrighted works for commercial purposes without permission.'

In response, Suno argued in an official blog that 'this lawsuit is fundamentally flawed in both fact and law, and is simply an example of choosing litigation over innovation. Major record companies claim that neural networks are like parrots that simply copy and paste, but generative music AI learns the grammar of music, such as musical styles, patterns, and forms, and invents new music based on that,' claiming that major record companies have a misunderstanding of AI technology.



According to entertainment news outlet Billboard , Udio argues in its lawsuit that 'what we did -- using existing sound recordings as data, analyzing them to identify patterns in various musical styles, and enabling people to create new works -- is a classic example of fair use, and the claims made by the RIAA and the major record companies are fundamentally at odds with the law and the values that underpin it.'

'Musical genres and styles, like opera, jazz or rap music, are not owned by anyone. Our laws have always been carefully calibrated to prevent anyone from monopolizing any form of artistic expression, whether it be a sonnet or a pop song,' Suno said in the lawsuit. 'The major record companies' lawsuit is an abuse of copyright law and an attempt to misuse intellectual property rights to protect incumbents from competition and to shrink the world of those capable of creating new expression.'

In response to Suno and Udio's claims, the RIAA cited the Supreme Court's decision in the Andy Warhol case , arguing that 'their industrial-scale copyright infringement does not constitute fair use. There is nothing fair about stealing an artist's life's work, extracting its core value, and repackaging it to directly compete with the original.'



The RIAA also noted that Suno used the name Jimi Hendrix as a prompt in a presentation to investors, and noted that the use of artists as prompts is inconsistent with Suno and Udio's claims.



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