Suno to start watermarking AI-generated songs amid legal challenges

Suno, the service that lets users produce songs with artificial intelligence, said it would introduce new tools to identify tracks generated on its platform, restrict downloads, and revise its community rules to discourage imitation songs. The changes come as the company deals with lawsuits from record labels and artist advocacy groups.

In a blog post, co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman said the platform aims to support original creativity while opening up music creation to more people through AI. A central issue has been users uploading AI-made songs to other streaming services and manipulating the systems to earn revenue. Suno said it would deploy audio watermarking and fingerprinting to prevent such misuse on other platforms. It remains unclear whether the company plans to use an existing technology like Google’s Synth ID or develop its own; Suno did not respond to TechCrunch’s inquiry.

The startup also announced a partnership with lyrics provider Musixmatch to use its Sentinal system for copyright detection. Shulman wrote that the tools are designed to be durable and resistant to tampering while preserving the listening experience. He added they are not meant to judge the quality or human touch of a song. “Ultimately, we believe it should be up to artists and platforms to decide what they want to disclose,” he said, emphasizing that Suno’s role is to build tools that offer transparency options and ease industry collaboration.

Suno said it plans to introduce a new download policy that would block mass distribution of tracks on streaming platforms, but declined to offer specifics. Its updated community guidelines now explicitly ban “deceptive audio presented as real” and “using a real person’s voice or likeness without permission,” aiming to prevent copycats.

The company, which raised $400 million in a Series D round in June, is fighting legal battles on several fronts. It is involved in a lawsuit with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Group, coordinated by the Recording Industry Association of America. In late July, a German court ruled in favor of government licensing agency GEMA, saying Suno had violated copyright. Separately, 404 Media reported a data breach in November 2025 that exposed the platform’s use of content from YouTube, Deezer, and Genius for model training. Have I Been Pwned later said the breach affected 55 million users. Suno now faces a class action lawsuit in Massachusetts alleging it neglected security for profit.