By: Gabby Zhou

Introduction
Many large record companies are suing AI song generator companies Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, alleging that these companies were exploiting the work of many artists. Announced by The Record Industry of Association of America (RIAA) on Monday that multiple companies, some of which include Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records, sued Suno and Udio. The lawsuits claim “the foundation of its business has been to exploit copyrighted sound recordings without permission.” The lawsuits were filed in U.S. federal courts for the District of Massachusetts and the Southern District of New York.

Artificial Intelligence
Meanwhile, artists have become concerned that AI may eventually undermine human works. RIAA chairman RIAA and CEO Mitch Glazier said “unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and exploit it for their own profit without consent (NBCnews, 2024) Adding on to that, Marc Tracy, a writer for The New York Times states that “the power of artificial intelligence is upending numerous industries, and companies that are able to take advantage of the technology can financially benefit.”

Musical Artists
According to many, AI companies such as Suno and Audio are hurting not just large record companies but many musical artists as well. They argue that artists will eventually be pushed out of the industry by not being able to compete with the speed of AI. Others are also concerned about the future of originality of music.