The music industry is cracking down on AI companies infringing on artists’ work.
Major record labels, including Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, and Warner Records, are suing two AI companies for using their artists’ work without permission. The lawsuits, filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), target AI companies Suno and Uncharted Labs, the developer behind Udio, for using the labels’ unlicensed sound recordings to train their AI models.
Udio, the company behind “BBL Drizzy,” gained attention last month with its AI-generated track during the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud. Founded by ex-Google DeepMind researchers, Udio raised $10 million to revolutionize music creation. Meanwhile, Suno, another AI music platform, recently secured $125 million in funding. Suno uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT for generating lyrics and song titles with just a few prompts.
RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier emphasized the importance of these lawsuits in upholding ethical and lawful AI development. He mentioned that while the music industry collaborates with responsible AI developers, unlicensed services like Suno and Udio exploit artists’ work without proper consent or compensation.
In April, over 200 artists, including big names like Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, and The Jonas Brothers, signed an open letter demanding that AI developers respect artists’ rights. This letter, organized by the Artist Rights Alliance, highlighted the need for ethical AI practices in the music industry.
The lawsuit against Udio stresses that AI tools can aid in creating innovative music if developed with copyright owners’ permission. However, irresponsible development poses significant risks to artists and the music industry. Similarly, the lawsuit against Suno points out that the platform has millions of users generating music files that compete with copyrighted recordings, without credit or compensation to the original artists.
