Sony sues Udio again over 30,000 songs, seeks $4.5bn
Sony has filed a new lawsuit against AI music startup Udio, seeking $4.5 billion in damages for the unauthorized use of over 30,000 copyrighted recordings. The lawsuit argues that because Udio has signed licensing deals with other labels, it acknowledges a market for its training data.
Why it matters
This case serves as a critical test for the music industry's ability to enforce copyright protections against generative AI companies.
The other two major labels made peace with Udio months ago. Sony did the opposite. On Monday it filed a fresh lawsuit in New York, Billboard reported, covering 30,117 recordings and leaving Udio facing a far bigger bill.
Turning peace into a weapon
The heart of the case is fair use, the defence Udio leans on to justify training on unlicensed songs. Courts weigh whether that use harms a market for the original work, and Sony has found a sharp answer.
Udio has since signed training licences with Universal, Warner, Kobalt, Merlin, Believe, and a US publishers’ group. That, Sony argues, proves a licensing market plainly exists. “A company that pays to license the very inputs at issue cannot credibly maintain that no market exists for those inputs,” the complaint reads.
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