Suno questions whether majors can license old catalogs for AI
The question of whether the majors can license old catalogs for AI training has moved to the center of the UMG v. Suno case, which went through a discovery conference on Nov. 10.
An 80-minute hearing
The litigants spent roughly 80 minutes on discovery topics. The majors' first copyright complaint against Suno is now 29 months old, and subpoenas to non-parties are going out. Central to the whole case is the "fair use" question, in particular whether AI-made audio dilutes the market for, and the value of, real music.
Universal and Sony are due to show how far their deals with AI developers reach.
Old contracts and AI training
Suno's side raised doubts about whether the majors even hold the right to license their catalogs for training. Britt Lovejoy of Latham & Watkins summed up the argument: "They don't say whether or not Sony or UMG could use the works for AI training." Lovejoy noted that some of Sony's artist agreements go back to the 1980s and did not anticipate AI.
Counsel for the non-Warner majors pushed back. They said it has not been determined that their clients lack those rights.
A market that may not exist
Suno's team added that artist opt-ins raise further questions. Their point was that it is uncertain whether a viable market for AI training exists at all. And a platform cannot harm a market that does not exist.
Suno reportedly plans to give up copies of its agreements with Believe and BMG, but not the papers on how they were negotiated.
Other discovery items
UMG executive Jonathan Dworkin, who handles digital business development and strategy, will add a written supplement to the testimony he gave earlier. The focus is on AI-detection and tracking disclosures provided by Spotify.
The parties also reached a resolution in concept of disputes over performance and financial data. A related joint report is due in one week.
Also raised was what the majors gave up in return for AI anti-dilution terms in their deals with streaming services. Those discussions are ongoing, and further depositions of streaming executives themselves could follow.
Source: Digital Music News