Sony sues Udio again over alleged AI training on 30,117 tracks
Sony Music says discovery uncovered thousands of its songs in Udio’s AI training data, escalating a copyright fight over music generators.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Sony Music Entertainment has filed a new copyright lawsuit against AI music generator Udio, claiming the startup used 30,117 Sony-controlled recordings to train its models without permission.
The complaint, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, says the tracks surfaced during discovery in Sony’s earlier case against Udio. Sony alleges the material included recordings by artists such as Beyoncé, Harry Styles and Elvis Presley.
Sony first sued Udio and rival AI music company Suno in June 2024, alongside Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The major labels accused the AI music services of using copyrighted recordings to build tools that can generate music.
The new filing follows a procedural setback for Sony. According to the case record described by Variety, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein last month rejected Sony’s request to add the 30,117 tracks to its original Udio lawsuit. Sony then brought a separate complaint covering those works.
Sony says permission was required
In the new complaint, Sony argues that a company developing a commercial AI music product must obtain approval before copying protected recordings for training. The label says AI systems that rely on copyrighted music without licenses threaten the value of the works used to build them.
Sony also says Udio had a clear path to licensing. The complaint points to Udio’s later deals with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group as evidence that the startup could have negotiated for rights rather than allegedly taking Sony recordings from YouTube.
Universal and Warner have settled their cases against Udio and entered licensing agreements with the company, according to Variety. Udio is also preparing an industry-backed model expected later this year. Sony and Universal remain in litigation against Suno.
Udio has claimed fair use
Udio did not immediately comment on the new lawsuit, Variety reported. Sony also did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
In an April response to Sony’s first lawsuit, Udio acknowledged that its models were trained on copyrighted songs uploaded to YouTube, according to Variety. The company argued that the training was fair use because it was a behind-the-scenes technical process used to create a new product that Udio described as non-infringing.
Sony’s complaint rejects that framing. The label says Udio’s system depends on creators’ work and must follow existing copyright rules while developing new technology.
Sony is asking the court for at least $150,000 for each allegedly infringed work. It also wants an order preventing Udio from using Sony’s recordings to train its models.
The case lands in the middle of a wider entertainment-industry fight over generative AI. Hollywood studios, record labels and news organizations are pressing courts and tech companies over whether copyrighted material can be used to train AI tools without permission.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.