Sony Music launches a new legal strike against AI platform Udio, alleging the unauthorized use of 30,000 recordings to train its generative models.
Sony Music has filed a fresh lawsuit against AI startup Udio, asserting that the company scraped over 30,000 copyrighted recordings to train its software. This second legal action follows a June 2024 suit from a coalition of major labels including Sony, Warner, and Universal.
After a judge blocked Sony from adding these new tracks to the initial case, the label filed a standalone complaint this Monday. The filing alleges that Udio systematically copied "key expressive features" from artists ranging from Beyoncé to Michael Jackson while concealing its training data.
While the 30,000 tracks cited represent a massive catalog, Sony claims this is only a fraction of the total infringement discovered. The labels insist they aren't trying to kill innovation, but rather demanding that AI developers pay for the creative raw materials that make their tools possible.
Udio and its competitor Suno remain under intense pressure as the music industry battles to define how copyright applies to generative models. Whether these platforms can survive the cost of legal compliance is now the central question for the tech.