Sony Music sues AI startup Udio again over 30,000 tracks

Sony Music has filed a new lawsuit against AI music startup Udio, this time claiming the company copied more than 30,000 tracks without permission to train its AI models, Music Business Worldwide reported. Sony and nine affiliated labels say in the complaint, filed Monday, July 20, that an inspection of Udio's training data turned up 30,117 audio recordings they say were illegally copied.

The new filing follows a June 2024 lawsuit brought by Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music that accused Udio and its competitor Suno of training on thousands of copyrighted recordings without a license. According to the complaint obtained by MBW, the labels allege Udio "concealed the contents of its training data" and "copied the key expressive features of copyrighted sound recordings."

The complaint names specific artists whose work Udio is accused of copying, among them Michael Jackson, Harry Styles, Britney Spears and Beyonce, though the labels describe the more than 30,000 works identified so far as just a "small portion" of what they believe has been infringed.

The lawsuit comes after a June ruling in which the same court declined to let Sony add the newly identified tracks to its existing 2024 case, prompting the label to file separately instead. Udio remains tangled in AI copyright disputes on multiple fronts; a related case against the company was moved to a New York court earlier this month.

"At its core, this case is about ensuring that copyright continues to incentivise human invention and imagination, as it has for centuries," the complaint states, adding that the goal "does not require stunting technological innovation." It goes on to argue that Udio must still adhere to copyright law and respect the creators whose work allows it to function at all. Udio has not publicly responded to the new filing.