Sony Files New Lawsuit Against Udio Over 30,000 Songs for Copyright Infringement
Sony Music Entertainment has sued Udio, alleging the AI music generator unlawfully used more than 30,000 of its recordings, including songs by Elvis Presley, Britney Spears, and Harry Styles.
Sony Music Entertainment filed a new lawsuit against AI music generator Udio in a New York court on Tuesday, accusing it of infringing the copyright of over 30,000 of its songs. The list includes hits such as Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," Beyoncé's "Say My Name," and Harry Styles' "As It Was."
The lawsuit follows a previous action in 2024, when Sony, along with Universal Music Group and Warner Records, sued Udio and rival Suno. After gaining access to Udio's training data through discovery, Sony used an audio fingerprinting technique to identify additional allegedly infringed works. A judge had earlier rejected Sony's motion to expand the original lawsuit beyond 333 works.
Sony claims Udio admitted that its generative AI models were "constructed by showing the program a vast amount of different kinds of sound recordings," including from YouTube. Meanwhile, UMG and Warner Records have settled with Udio and are now partnering with the company as the music industry embraces AI.
In the new suit, Sony seeks an injunction to block Udio from infringing its works and damages of up to $150,000 per work infringed. The company says it may expand the scope of the lawsuit further.
