Elvis and Eminem Rights Holders Sue Suno, Because Even the King Can't Escape the Algorithm
Suno's legal troubles hit a new high note as Elvis Presley's rights holders and Eminem's publisher sue over AI-generated mimicry, citing Tennessee's ELVIS Act.
Suno, the AI music company that lets you generate a song in seconds without the pesky hassle of learning an instrument, is now facing yet another pair of lawsuits. This time, it's the rights holders of Elvis Presley's music and the publisher of some of Eminem's biggest records doing the suing, claiming Suno illegally generates music and lyrics that mimic those artists.
The Presley suit leans on Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act - yes, that's the actual acronym - which makes it illegal for an AI company to clone a singer's voice. The lawyers argue that "Suno has mechanically encoded itself with artists' identities, hard-work, creativity, and time, and harnessed them all for a consistent conveyor belt of cold hard cash." Subtle. They later add that "Suno's ravenous race to the bottom aims to make human creativity obsolete, coldly replicating without a license in seconds what takes years to learn, struggle with, maintain, and endlessly attempt to make better and perfect." So, not fans.
These suits closely mirror one filed by Jason Isbell and others in September, which claimed Suno created imitations of the plaintiffs but did not directly claim copyright infringement. Suno's spokesperson Cat McCormack told The Verge that "Suno exists to help people create new, original music, not to trade on anyone's name or likeness, and we prohibit any unauthorized use of an artist's work." She added that the company doesn't allow prompts for specific artists' names and songs, works with third-party providers to screen uploaded audio files and lyrics for potential misuse, and is "always working to strengthen our guardrails." Which is reassuring, unless you're one of the many plaintiffs.
This is just the latest in a growing pile of lawsuits against Suno, which already includes Sony, UMG, Isbell, Reservoir Media, and more. At this rate, the company might need its own legal department album.
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