Musicians Sue AI Music Platform Suno

A group of musicians led by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell is suing AI music platform Suno, alleging the company lets users generate copycat songs by typing artists’ names without permission.

The proposed class action, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston, targets how Suno uses and compensates for artists’ name, image and likeness rather than copyrighted recordings themselves. Isbell is joined by Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker frontman David Lowery, blues musician Guy Forsyth and saxophonist Eduardo Calle.

The complaint argues that a musician’s identity remains the artist’s property even when sophisticated technology is involved. Plaintiffs say Suno’s text-to-song generator, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, can produce music that evokes specific artists from simple name prompts, along with descriptors such as genre, instruments and mood.

The case frames a broader industry fight over control of artistic identity as generative AI music spreads. Record labels, publishers and startups are already litigating over training data and outputs, while some copyright owners have struck licensing deals with AI firms. 

The suit focuses on publicity and identity rights instead of those copyright claims.

Suno has declined to comment. Plaintiffs are seeking class-action status, damages and an order stopping the company from capturing and monetizing artists’ identities.