Suno’s Legal Battle Against Sony Music and UMG Just Got 100 Times More Serious—Literally
Universal Music and Sony Music are dramatically expanding their litigation against AI music giant Suno, claiming over 61,000 copyright infringements.
Just moments after Sony Music Entertainment expanded its lawsuit against AI music company Udio, Sony and Universal Music Group dramatically expanded their litigation against Suno, the biggest AI music platform in the game. Instead of just 560 works, the music label giants are claiming infringement of over 61,000 works—at least, if a judge approves their latest amended complaint.
In both of these expanded cases, the labels used Audible Magic, an industry-standard audio fingerprinting technology, to scan Suno’s training data, confirming that the platform used “millions” of their copyrighted tracks to train its AI models. Now, that data source is being submitted into the court record to await approval. Naturally, Suno strongly opposes this move, arguing it would effectively reset the case and delay their ability to pursue their “fair use” defense in a timely manner. However, the labels state that they could settle that matter via summary judgment separately before completing the discovery required for the newly submitted 61,000 tracks.
Musicians’ Union Sues Major Labels for Artists’ Share of AI Song Generator Settlement Money
The The American Federation of Musicians is suing major record companies Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group over the labels’ recent moves to settle their lawsuits with AI music generators Suno and Udio, arguing that the settlements’ benefits aren’t reaching the musicians themselves.
“While the Defendants protected their own interests and created a significant source of new revenue with the retrospective settlements and prospective licenses, they have refused to compensate the musicians whose work – created with their own instruments and through their talent, creativity, and hard work – is fed into AI machines for profit,” the AFM said in the complaint filed in federal court. The AFM’s lawsuit comes months after UMG and WMG reached settlements with Udio and Suno last fall. UMG, the world’s largest music company, struck the first deal, announcing a settlement and partnership with Udio in late October of 2025. WMG came after, announcing a partnership of its own with Udio in mid-November. Weeks after that, WMG became the first (and so far the only) major label to settle with
Suno. The “big three” record companies, which includes Sony Music Group alongside UMG and WMG, first sued Suno and Udio in 2024, accusing that the AI music generators of massive copyright infringement by training their models on thousands of iconic songs without permission. Sony is the lone major music company that hasn’t settled with either AI company.
Spotify's AI bet: more of everything, less of what you want
Spotify was a music app at one time. Then it added podcasts. Then audiobooks. Now the company is piling AI features into its app at a pace that can feel overwhelming. The latest wave, announced at its investor day, skews heavily toward using AI to generate content rather than using AI to help users find content they actually want.
Until now, Spotify has been largely a platform for human-created content — music, podcasts, and audiobooks. As it adds AI-powered tools to generate all of those formats, the app is poised to look very different. That shift is also creating friction — AI can now produce music faster than Spotify can manage it. The company is no longer focused solely on consumption — it’s actively nudging users to create content, too, even if it’s just for themselves. The risk is that this trades depth for breadth: The more time users spend making sense of a cluttered app, the less time they spend discovering and listening to content by other creators. This raises the question: Is Spotify deepening its competitive moat or diluting what made it essential?
US Protect Working Musicians Act aims to boost
indies’ agency
This appears to be ‘third-time lucky week’ for proposed US legislation relating to the music industry. We reported yesterday on the return of the deepfakes-tackling No Fakes Act after two previous attempts to get it onto the statute books. Now another bill, the Protect Working Musicians Act, is back on the Washington, DC agenda. This is the bill originally introduced in 2021 whose big change would be toallow independent artists to come together to negotiate with streaming services – and also to collectively refuse to license their music if the terms were not satisfactory.
A revised version was reintroduced in 2023, expanding to include music-licensing by AI companies. But it didn’t make it through the system before the hard deadline of the 2024 US elections. Cue this week’s reintroduction (or re-reintroduction?) by congresswoman Deborah Ross.
The focus is still on both streaming and AI training, and collective negotiation by “small independent artists and music creators”. Indie labels body A2IM is among the industry bodies backing the bill. “The explosion of AI and the continued dominance of a handful of streaming giants make it clear that independent artists need real tools to advocate for themselves,” said CEO Ian Harrison.
The Artists Rights Alliance, American Federation of Musicians, Future of Music Coalition, Recording Academy, MMF-US, Music Artists Coalition, NMPA, SONA and UMAW are among the other bodies backing the bill.
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.”
