Labels ask court to dismiss AI lawsuit
The AI Music Battle: Who Owns the Sound and Who Gets Paid?
The music industry is grappling with a seismic shift, and at the heart of this revolution is a complex legal battle over ownership, compensation, and the use of creative work by artificial intelligence. Major music conglomerates, including Universal Music Group and Warner labels, have recently asked the court to dismiss a major lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) against them concerning AI licensing.
The dispute centers on whether the use of copyrighted recordings by AI platforms like Suno and Udio constitutes a “new use” under the AFM’s Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA). If it is a new use, the union argues that the labels have an obligation to compensate the musicians whose performances were used to train these powerful AI models, and they must be properly notified of this usage.
However, the labels maintain that the existing agreement does not specifically cover AI applications, arguing that their interpretation is the only sensible one. They contend that because there is no underlying agreement addressing AI use, there is no payment obligation whatsoever.
This legal standoff highlights the tension between traditional labor agreements and rapidly evolving technology. The issue isn’t just about a single lawsuit; it reflects a larger struggle over where the lines of copyright and compensation are drawn in the age of machine learning.
The stakes are incredibly high, focusing on the origins of the material used to train these sophisticated programs and ensuring that the artists who created the original works receive fair compensation. This fight is deeply intertwined with other ongoing legal challenges in the AI music sphere.
In parallel, other disputes underscore this theme. Last year, Warner and its peers pursued lawsuits against AI brands like Suno and Udio for massive copyright violations. While one deal was eventually settled, it established a precedent for future agreements. This settlement was designed to ensure that artists and songwriters who opt into AI deals are compensated fairly and retain full control over their music and likeness.
Further complexity has emerged with the fallout from licensing disputes. For instance, Suno recently lost a copyright infringement case against the German licensing agency GEMA. GEMA argued that the AI models used songs from its repertoire—including classics like Boney M’s ‘Daddy Cool’—to train their models without obtaining necessary licenses or paying the original songwriters.
This ruling has sent a ripple effect through the industry, signaling that AI developers must now navigate licensing obligations for music used in training. It means that any future AI musical endeavors will likely require transparency and proper compensation for the foundational works they rely upon.
Ultimately, the legal fight between the musicians’ union and the major labels is a microcosm of a larger conversation: how do we reconcile the established frameworks of music labor with the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence? It is a critical moment determining the future relationship between human creators, technology, and the economic value of recorded music.
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