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Independent Musicians Join Class-Action Lawsuits Against AI Music Generators Suno and Udio
Independent musicians are now able to join a growing class‑action lawsuit against two AI‑music companies, Suno and Udio, after a surge in plaintiffs following a 2023 Atlantic investigation into the data sets used by those firms.
The lawsuits were filed by Delgado Entertainment Law last summer. Lead attorney Krystle Delgado has promoted the action through her YouTube channel, explaining that Suno and Udio used copyrighted recordings without permission and that the companies owe compensation to artists whose work was included in their training data.
In June, when the Atlantic published its report on the vast collections of music that AI companies may have accessed for training, the number of independent artists who signed up for the lawsuit doubled in 72 hours. The plaintiffs now number in the thousands, and new participants can register at indieailawsuit.com.
The class actions target Suno Inc., a generative‑AI music platform launched in December 2023, and Udio, a text‑to‑music model released in April 2024. Both companies have been accused of training their models on copyrighted music without obtaining licenses. The lawsuits seek to compel the companies to disclose the specific recordings used in their training data and to pay damages to the affected artists.
Hagens Berman, a firm known for handling large class‑action cases, has joined the legal team. The lawsuits are distinct from separate actions filed by major labels. Sony, Warner, and Universal have sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, but those suits have not yet forced the AI companies to reveal their training data.
According to Delgado, the discovery phase of the Udio lawsuit is moving forward. “If you get on the plaintiff list for our lawsuits, I will be searching Suno and Udio’s databases for your songs,” she said in a video posted to her channel. The discovery process will require the companies to provide records of the music used to train their models, which is essential for proving that the plaintiffs’ works were included.
The lawsuits also highlight a broader concern for independent musicians who lack the resources of major labels to protect their rights. The legal action is one of several avenues that artists can pursue. In addition to litigation, musicians can support federal legislation that would provide clearer protections. Bills such as the COPIED Act, the TRAIN Act, and the CLEAR Act are currently in various stages of the legislative process and aim to address the use of copyrighted works in AI training.
While the lawsuits are ongoing, the industry is watching closely. The outcome could set a precedent for how AI companies handle copyrighted music and how artists are compensated for the use of their recordings in machine‑learning models.
Independent musicians who wish to join the class action should visit indieailawsuit.com to confirm their eligibility and submit their work for review. The legal team will assess whether a particular recording was used in the training data and will include the artist in the class if it was.
The lawsuits are still in the early stages, and it remains to be seen whether the courts will order Suno and Udio to disclose their training data. However, the rapid growth of the plaintiff list and the involvement of a major litigation firm suggest that the case could progress quickly.
For now, independent artists have a new legal pathway to seek compensation for the unauthorized use of their music in AI‑generated models and a chance to influence the emerging regulatory landscape around AI training data.
The lawsuits were filed by Delgado Entertainment Law last summer. Lead attorney Krystle Delgado has promoted the action through her YouTube channel, explaining that Suno and Udio used copyrighted recordings without permission and that the companies owe compensation to artists whose work was included in their training data.
In June, when the Atlantic published its report on the vast collections of music that AI companies may have accessed for training, the number of independent artists who signed up for the lawsuit doubled in 72 hours. The plaintiffs now number in the thousands, and new participants can register at indieailawsuit.com.
The class actions target Suno Inc., a generative‑AI music platform launched in December 2023, and Udio, a text‑to‑music model released in April 2024. Both companies have been accused of training their models on copyrighted music without obtaining licenses. The lawsuits seek to compel the companies to disclose the specific recordings used in their training data and to pay damages to the affected artists.
Hagens Berman, a firm known for handling large class‑action cases, has joined the legal team. The lawsuits are distinct from separate actions filed by major labels. Sony, Warner, and Universal have sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, but those suits have not yet forced the AI companies to reveal their training data.
According to Delgado, the discovery phase of the Udio lawsuit is moving forward. “If you get on the plaintiff list for our lawsuits, I will be searching Suno and Udio’s databases for your songs,” she said in a video posted to her channel. The discovery process will require the companies to provide records of the music used to train their models, which is essential for proving that the plaintiffs’ works were included.
The lawsuits also highlight a broader concern for independent musicians who lack the resources of major labels to protect their rights. The legal action is one of several avenues that artists can pursue. In addition to litigation, musicians can support federal legislation that would provide clearer protections. Bills such as the COPIED Act, the TRAIN Act, and the CLEAR Act are currently in various stages of the legislative process and aim to address the use of copyrighted works in AI training.
While the lawsuits are ongoing, the industry is watching closely. The outcome could set a precedent for how AI companies handle copyrighted music and how artists are compensated for the use of their recordings in machine‑learning models.
Independent musicians who wish to join the class action should visit indieailawsuit.com to confirm their eligibility and submit their work for review. The legal team will assess whether a particular recording was used in the training data and will include the artist in the class if it was.
The lawsuits are still in the early stages, and it remains to be seen whether the courts will order Suno and Udio to disclose their training data. However, the rapid growth of the plaintiff list and the involvement of a major litigation firm suggest that the case could progress quickly.
For now, independent artists have a new legal pathway to seek compensation for the unauthorized use of their music in AI‑generated models and a chance to influence the emerging regulatory landscape around AI training data.
