Country artist Tony Justice has filed class actions against both Suno and Udio for allegedly infringing on indie professionals’ works when training their models. Photo Credit: Gabriel Gurrola
Country artist Tony Justice has fired off class actions against Suno and Udio, accusing the AI music startups of training on his works – and the works of other independent acts – without authorization.
The “Last of the Cowboys” creator and his 5th Wheel Records label just recently submitted the Suno action to a Massachusetts federal court; the complaint against Udio, on the other hand, is playing out in New York.
Though technically distinct, the similar 23-page suits begin by recapping the majors’ ongoing infringement litigation against the same defendants. According to Justice, those actions – which, incidentally, might be trending towards settlement – are leaving “independent artists, whose rights have been trampled the most…without a seat at the table.”
Enter the newly initiated cases, which not so subtly call out the AI platforms for allegedly stealing protected works to train their models.
“Rather than simply license these copyrighted songs like every other tech-based business does, Udio elected to simply steal the songs and generate AI-soundalike music at virtually no cost to Udio,” reads one relevant section.
(If the variety of ongoing infringement battles is any indication, “every other” might be a bit of a stretch here.)
As with several different artist and rightsholder actions against AI companies, Justice’s suits explore the defendants’ alleged training processes, the resulting financial advantages (“Udio profits substantially from its infringement”), and more.
Contrasting multiple complaints targeting gen AI developers, however, the fresh filings tackle the all-important “fair use” question head on. Many in the artificial intelligence world are adamant that training on copyrighted materials is transformative and constitutes fair use, but Justice is apparently of the belief that the process is anything but fair.
“Udio training its AI model on the copyrighted songs of independent artists, Plaintiffs and Class Members, without authorization, to then create competing music in the exact same marketplace, is unlikely fair use, and therefore, is prima facie copyright infringement,” the appropriate suit spells out.
“The intentional theft of millions of songs created by independent artists is appalling, wrong, unjustified and certainly not fair,” the document emphasizes in firmer language. “Udio’s conduct violates the very purposes of the copyright law and runs contrary to the purpose of the fair use doctrine.”
With that, Justice, repped by an attorney who doubles as a musician, is seeking permanent injunctions against and massive piles of damages from Suno as well as Udio.
And if the plaintiff has his way, both complaints will have a far-reaching class definition – extending specifically to all indie artists, songwriters, and producers with interests in projects made “available on any internet-based streaming service at any time since January 1, 2021.”
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.