Sony Music v. Suno. AI training copyright infringement (D. Mass.)

Latest development

Suno has admitted in a court filing that it took its training audio from YouTube. In a September 1, 2026 answer to the labels' amended complaint, Suno states that 'audio data was obtained from YouTube for use as training data using YT-DLP,' while arguing the labels lack standing to bring a DMCA anti-circumvention claim, that any copying is fair use, and that the labels' claims are barred by copyright misuse because they 'extend an unlawful monopoly' over music. The answer follows two August 18 orders from Judge Saylor: he granted UMG and Sony leave to add a Section 1201 'stream ripping' claim (the amended complaint was filed August 25, seeking up to $2,500 per act of circumvention on top of $150,000 per work), but denied their bid to add 61,026 recordings to the 560 in suit, writing that doing so would have 'obvious consequences of complexity and delay' and that Suno 'is entitled to a timely resolution' of the fair use question; the labels may assert the extra works in a separate suit. They did exactly that on September 18, 2026, filing a second Massachusetts action over 60,202 recordings that also targets Suno's new v6 models. Fact discovery in this case still closes September 30, 2026, with dispositive motions due April 9, 2027. Separately, on July 31, 2026 the Munich Regional Court ruled for GEMA against Suno in the first European decision on a generative AI music tool, finding both training and outputs infringed; that judgment is under appeal. On October 14, 2026, UMG and Sony asked a Manhattan federal court to enforce a September subpoena against DistroKid, which they say 'refuses to produce a single document'; they want month-by-month data on tracks DistroKid's AI-detection model flagged, plus the streams and royalties those tracks earned, by October 30, to rebut Suno's fair use defense. DistroKid, a non-party, says it will 'cooperate with the legal process' (reported October 19).

Tracker entry updated 2026-10-29 · next known date: 2026-09-30