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Udio Joins Suno Fight to Redact Core Training Data In Court — What Are These Guys Hiding?
Suno isn’t alone in pushing to keep its “training data number” – or a tally of the tracks used to train its models – out of the public view. Now, amid a legal battle with Sony Music, AI music rival Udio is also attempting to seal the figure.  Still fending off copyright litigation from Universal Music and Sony Music, Suno was first to request that the evidently important total remain under wraps. According to the platform, the corresponding motion pertains specifically to “the number of audio files” (not the titles thereof) allegedly “used to train its generative AI model.”  And per Suno, competitors could potentially capitalize on the info “to replicate and benchmark against Suno’s model” and “optimize their models to unfairly compete with Suno’s.” Does this position tell the full story? Or are the companies in actuality looking to prevent the numbers’ release due to optics and legal concerns? Both figures came to light in marathon discovery processes during which the major label plaintiffs had access to the relevant datasets.

 

Can the Reintroduced Protect Working Musicians Act Pass? Get Ready for an ‘Artist-Led Full Court Press on the Hill’
The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) has launched the latest chapter in its efforts to protect and defend artists whose livelihoods are threatened by the ever-changing music industry economy. Building on years of work fighting for fair pay and fair treatment for working musicians, performers, and songwriters, the ARA will hold town halls in communities across the nation along with music industry advocates to educate policymakers and publish research on the challenges facing independent artists, and how the Protect Working Musicians Act (PWMA) can help. First introduced in 2023 and updated for the age of artificial intelligence, the PWMA addresses a fundamental power imbalance in today’s music economy. Under current antitrust law, independent artists have little ability to negotiate fair market-value rates when their music is used by global streaming platforms and virtually no recourse against AI companies that routinely use their music without permission, licensing, or compensation.  The legislation would allow artists, songwriters, and independent labels to join together and negotiate collectively with AI developers and streaming services, giving them a meaningful seat at the table for the first time and a clear pathway to fair and equitable compensation.

 

8 Things Songwriters Should Look for in a Demo Singer (Cliff Goldmacher)
Running a Nashville recording studio for over thirty years, I’ve seen and heard an incredible number of vocalists. When it comes to demo singers specifically, I’ve found that the best ones have a very specific and highly developed skill set that allows them to deliver beautiful, compelling renditions of clients’ songs day after day and year after year. As a songwriter, choosing a demo singer goes way beyond simply finding a vocalist with a good voice. I’ve put together a list of some of the most important things to look for when choosing a demo singer in order to help you decide.  1) Vocal Talent; The singer’s pitch, natural sense of timing, their range and even how clearly they’re able to enunciate all play a part in a great vocalist’s talent. 2) A Signature Sound; It’s equally important that the voice not be so unique that it distracts from the main point of a demo (short for demonstration, remember…) which is to sell the song and not the singer. 3) Studio Savvy; It’s important to stress that being a great singer with a signature sound isn’t enough. Singing in the studio is dramatically different from singing live.  4) The Ability to Sing Their Own Harmony/Background Vocals; It’s not unusual for a demo singer - after singing the lead vocal to a song - to go back to the choruses and overdub harmony vocals to allow the chorus and various other lines in the song to blossom and sound more full. 5) Speed; A good singer works quickly and efficiently for a variety of reasons. First of all, it keeps the session running smoothly and focused on the music instead of any delays or distractions. 6) A Great Attitude; A great attitude is essential. The best demo singers understand that they’re for hire and they’re there to make the client happy. 7) Professionalism; Right alongside attitude comes professionalism. Having to wait for a late singer to arrive is unacceptable 8) Don’t Use the Same Demo Singer on Every Song.  It’s easy to fall in love with the voice of one of your demo singers but it's best to use a variety of singers on your songs. This way, you’ll have the ability to pitch songs to the same publishers, labels and artists without having them feel like all of your songs have the same sound. It’s important to remember that a demo singer can make or break your song’s presentation, so it pays to choose wisely. 

 

Fender Slaps PRS with Cease-and-Desist Over Iconic Stratocaster Design
Fender won the rights to the iconic Stratocaster body shape, and now the company is issuing a cease-and-desist to PRS Guitars over John Mayer’s Silver Sky.  Fender was awarded broad rights to the iconic Stratocaster guitar body shape in a landmark copyright case. Now, the company is issuing a cease-and-desist to PRS Guitars. PRS makes John Mayer’s signature Silver Sky, one of the most popular guitars on the market—which resembles the Strat shape.  The move comes just two months after a German court granted Fender “enforceable rights against any guitars using the Stratocaster body shape,” according to the manufacturer. The ruling was tied to Fender’s case against a Chinese company, Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments, which was accused of reproducing the Strat design without authorization.

 

George Strait, Randy Travis Get New Spaces Dedicated to Them
It’s always cool to see country music legends being commemorated, and their legacies solidified in tangible ways that you know will be around for years to come and make sure they don’t go forgotten. Not that we have to worry about George Strait and Randy Travis being forgotten anytime soon. Their music and legacies loom large as any, and they are as beloved by traditional country fans as they were when their music graced the mainstream airwaves, and they were winning big awards on an annual basis.  Nonetheless, both are receiving deserved honor in the dedication of spaces to their legacies. George Strait has enjoyed a special connection to the Moody Center arena in Austin, TX since it first opened in April of 2022. In fact, Strait performed at the Grand Opening celebration with Willie Nelson, and then played four sold-out nights this spring there. Now the venue has solidified their legacy with Strait by christening “The Troubadour,” backstage artist lounge for fellow musicians to hang out in before shows.  The centerpiece of the lounge is a bronze plaque embedded in the floor with Strait’s iconic boot prints, his signature, and an inscription. Randy Travis had the front room of Nashville’s iconic music venue The Nashville Palace dedicated to him on Wednesday, June 3rd. As part of celebrating 40 years of the release of his debut album Storms of Life, a ribbon cutting and dedicated plaque will make sure the performance space will forever be known as “The Randy Travis Room.”

 

YouTube will now automatically detect and label AI videos – even when creators don’t disclose it
YouTube will now automatically apply AI content labels to realistic AI-generated videos on its platform – even when creators have not disclosed the use of AI themselves.  For music, the implications are pointed: the prominent label will apply to photorealistic AI music videos but not to stylized or animated ones, creating an implicit incentive for artists experimenting with AI visuals to favor the latter.  The platform said it is rolling out “new internal signals” to identify AI-generated content, starting in May 2026.  If a creator does not specify whether AI was used, but YouTube‘s systems detect “significant photorealistic AI use,” the platform said it will “automatically apply a label.”  The announcement follows a recent expansion of YouTube’s AI likeness detection tool to all eligible creators aged 18 and over. The tool, which the company has compared to Content ID, scans for AI-generated content featuring creators’ likenesses.

 

UMG and Sony seek to add over 61k recordings to Suno lawsuit after discovery reveals AI trained on ‘millions’ of their copyrighted tracks
Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have asked a federal court for permission to add more than 61,000 copyrighted sound recordings to their copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music generator Suno.  The motion, filed on Thursday (May 21) in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which you can read here, comes after the record companies used audio fingerprinting technology to identify their recordings within Suno’s training data.  The original complaint, filed in June 2024, asserted 560 copyrighted works.  Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, who is presiding over the case, would need to grant the motion before the additional works are added to the lawsuit. The labels say they are asserting “only a small fraction” of those recordings, 61,026 works, in the proposed second amended complaint.  In its original answer to the complaint, Suno admitted that “the tens of millions of recordings that Suno’s model was trained on presumably included recordings whose rights are owned by the Plaintiffs in this case.”

Music Licensing Enforcement Tightens
It’s likely that many small U.S. fitness operators still play music that’s not licensed for commercial use, assuming their risk of getting caught is low…. Ever since operetta composer Victor Herbert sued Shanley’s restaurant in New York in 1917 to force it to pay for playing his song on a player-piano, songwriters and music publishers have depended on Performing Rights Organizations to make sure they get compensated. For much of the last century, three organizations dominated the industry, a relatively staid and unglamorous corner of the music scene that remained largely unchanged throughout the eras of radio, records and CDs. But the rise of streaming has led to a surge in revenue and spawned a handful of new organizations looking to cash in.  Now there are at least half a dozen PROs in the United States, representing songwriters and publishers, each demanding that bars, restaurants, hotels and other venues pay a fee or risk being sued. Businesses say the rising licensing costs have become overwhelming, and some question whether it’s even worth playing music at all. The House Judiciary Committee last fall asked the Copyright Office to investigate the current system and consider potential reforms. In February, the Office opened an inquiry and received thousands of comments from businesses and songwriters. Creating a welcoming ambiance in a restaurant or yoga studio isn’t as simple as putting on a Spotify playlist. Streaming has unleashed trillions of songs, and every one must be licensed and have royalties paid to the songwriter whenever any track is played in public. Violations can cost up to $150,000 per infringement.  

 

Music Industry backs US bill to outlaw AI deepfakes, in growing coalition
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has reintroduced the NO FAKES Act – the bill designed to protect individuals from unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes of their voice and likeness.  The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026 was reintroduced in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday (May 20).  The bill has attracted a coalition of support from across the music industry, including from Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Recording Academy, and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). This marks the third time the bill has been brought before Congress – it was first formally introduced in the Senate in July 2024, and reintroduced in April 2025 – but it failed to advance out of committee on both occasions.The updated NO FAKES Act has been specifically revised to account for platforms like Spotify – distinguishing between user-generated content platforms and more curated services, and tailoring how disputes are processed and enforced accordingly.

 

The Music Industry Has a Growing Data Overload Problem. 
The music industry of 2026 is exploding everywhere all-at-once, with catalog investments, creative outputs, and AI-generated mayhem part of a pedal-to-the-metal growth expansion. On the ground, that means more companies are battling an avalanche of data overload and disconnected processes, though systems and experts are quickly adapting and figuring out solutions. What’s the path towards achieving ‘data nirvana'? The answer to that question could start to differentiate winners and losers across a number of exploding industry sub-categories in the coming years, including distributors, DSPs, ticketing platforms, ISP/catalog mega-owners, DAWs, publishers, and labels. Click here to read the full article.