Sony sues Udio’s AI over 30,000 songs in copyright case
▼ Summary
– Sony Music Entertainment has filed a new lawsuit against Udio, accusing the AI music generator of infringing copyright on over 30,000 songs, including works by Elvis Presley, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles.
– Sony previously joined UMG and Warner Records in a 2024 lawsuit against Udio and Suno, with the original case limited to 333 works after a judge rejected Sony’s motion to add more songs.
– Sony identified the additional infringed songs using an “audio fingerprinting” technique during discovery, claiming Udio copied the works into its AI models.
– UMG and Warner Music Group have since settled with Udio and are now partnering with the company, while Sony continues its legal action.
– Sony is seeking to block Udio from infringing its works and is asking for up to $150,000 per work infringed.
Sony Music Entertainment has launched a fresh legal battle against Udio, accusing the AI music platform of unlawfully using tens of thousands of its copyrighted songs. The new lawsuit, filed Monday in a New York court, claims Udio copied and ingested over 30,000 tracks into its generative AI models. The list spans decades of hits, from Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog to Beyoncé’s Say My Name and Harry Styles’ As It Was.
According to the filing, Sony argues that this extensive catalog represents “only a small portion of Plaintiffs’ works that Udio infringed,” as first reported by Music Business Worldwide. The case marks an escalation in the ongoing dispute between major record labels and AI music generators.
In 2024, Sony, alongside Universal Music Group and Warner Records, initially sued both Udio and the AI music maker Suno. Through the discovery process, Sony gained access to Udio’s training data and used an audio fingerprinting technique to identify additional infringed works. The company sought to add more than 30,000 songs to the original lawsuit, but a judge rejected that motion, limiting the case to 333 works.
Now, Sony has made those thousands of songs the centerpiece of a separate lawsuit, which it says it may expand further. The company claims Udio “admitted that its generative AI models were ‘constructed by showing the program a vast amount of different kinds of sound recordings,’” including material sourced from YouTube. Notably, UMG and Warner Music Group have since settled with Udio and are now collaborating with the company, signaling a shift as the music industry increasingly embraces AI technology.
Sony is seeking a court order to block Udio from further infringing its works, along with damages of up to $150,000 per work infringed. The full list of songs cited in the lawsuit is available in the court filing.
(Source: The Verge)