Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment have filed a second lawsuit against AI music generation company Suno, accusing its newly released v6 model of continued copyright infringement. The music giants claim Suno's latest model is built upon previous versions trained on vast quantities of copyrighted music without authorization.
The complaint, filed in Massachusetts federal court, alleges that Suno's v6 model engages in "model laundering." This practice, according to the labels, involves training a new AI model on the outputs and user interaction data generated by older, infringing models. UMG and Sony argue that this process allows any copyright violations from the earlier models to persist in the new version, even if the new model incorporates licensed material. They refer to the v6 model as "the fruit of the same poisoned tree."
This new legal action follows an earlier lawsuit filed by the major labels, which accused Suno of copying more than 60,000 sound recordings. While Suno has entered into licensing agreements with Warner Music Group, BMG, and Believe, UMG and Sony have notably not reached such agreements and continue to pursue their claims. The labels contend that Suno's recent licensing deals demonstrate the existence of a market for music licensing in AI development, a market Suno has now joined as a "repeat, paying participant."
Suno has previously maintained that training generative AI on copyrighted music can constitute fair use. However, UMG and Sony argue that Suno's development of v6, by using "user interactions" from prior models, means the new model is a direct product of unauthorized copying. The lawsuit also alleges that Suno circumvented technological protections on platforms like YouTube to obtain music for training purposes.
The potential damages for Suno could be substantial. The labels cite over 60,000 specific recordings allegedly infringed and suggest the total scope of infringement extends far beyond this number. With statutory damages potentially reaching $150,000 per infringed work, the theoretical financial penalties could exceed $9 billion.
The legal battle highlights the ongoing tension between AI developers and the music industry regarding the use of copyrighted material for training AI models. The outcome of these lawsuits could set important precedents for how AI companies approach data sourcing, model development, and licensing agreements in the future.