Olufemi  Adeyemi 

The recent spate of AI-related lawsuits filed by music labels has introduced a novel and complex challenge to the existing copyright framework in the United States.

Two startups, Suno and Udio, have emerged in the music industry, enabling users to create music and lyrics by simply inputting text prompts.

However, this innovation has sparked legal disputes with prominent record labels such as Sony Music, UMG, and Warner Music. These labels allege that Suno and Udio have utilized their copyrighted recordings to train their systems without obtaining proper permissions or licenses.

Furthermore, they claim that the generated music contains distinct similarities to the works of renowned artists like ABBA and Bruce Springsteen, with specific segments of their songs being replicated.

These lawsuits mirror previous cases filed against OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta for their high-profile chatbots, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Authors, news outlets, and other writers of text have brought forth similar allegations, asserting that their works have been used without authorization.

The complexity of these cases is compounded by the involvement of music, which introduces additional legal considerations.

An artist expressed her concern to Reuters, regarding an AI-generated song as an act of ‘plagiarism’.

Blake Brittain, a legal reporter for Reuters, spoke with Tift Merritt, a well-known and accomplished Americana musician from North Carolina. Merritt has been a staunch advocate for musicians’ rights and has expressed concerns about these systems potentially stealing her music and using it to replace her. Brittain conducted an experiment by requesting that these systems reproduce an Americana song in Merritt’s style. The results were intriguing, as the generated music did not directly use her lyrics or melodies but captured the overall vibe of her music. This observation raises valid concerns for Merritt and highlights the potential impact of these systems on musicians’ livelihoods.

Suno and Udio have advocated for the technology, asserting that it is ‘groundbreaking’ and embodies ‘novel musical concepts.’

In a recent development, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music have initiated legal proceedings against Udio and another music AI company, Suno. This marks a significant escalation in the music industry’s response to the emerging challenges posed by AI-generated content and its potential impact on copyright laws.

Both Suno and Udio have responded to the lawsuits by emphasizing the transformative nature of their respective technologies. Suno’s CEO, Mikey Shulman, asserts that their technology is transformative, while Udio maintains that its system is explicitly designed to create music that reflects novel musical ideas.