Suno is facing a fresh copyright lawsuit as Danish CMO Koda accuses the company of stealing its members' music to train an AI model. Koda, a music rights organization with over 52,000 members, claims Suno has been using copyrighted music without permission or payment to train its AI model. This marks the first time a Danish rights organization has sued an AI music service.
Koda's CEO, Gorm Arildsen, stated, 'INNOVATION CAN'T BE BUILT ON STOLEN GOODS. SUNO HAS TAKEN OUR MEMBERS' CREATIVE WORK AND FED IT INTO THEIR MACHINES WITHOUT CONSENT, TRANSPARENCY OR REMUNERATION.' This lawsuit follows a similar legal action taken by German collection society GEMA earlier this year and a major copyright infringement lawsuit in the US by labels owned by Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Suno is also facing copyright suits from indie artists.
The Koda lawsuit alleges Suno violated Danish copyright law by reproducing protected works and making them available to the public without authorization. Suno operates a service that generates music from text prompts and has been generating over $100 million in annual revenue. The company was valued at $500 million in its most recent funding round and is seeking new investment at a projected $2 billion valuation.
Koda is calling for a clear, industry-wide standard demanding consent, transparency, and remuneration from tech companies using human-created protected music for training or generating music. The organization estimates that AI-generated music could reduce Danish music industry revenue by 6.9 billion kroner ($680 million) from 2025 to 2030 without policy intervention, predicting an industry loss of up to 28% of annual revenue by 2030.
This controversy highlights the ongoing debate about the ethical use of copyrighted material in AI development and the potential impact on the music industry. As AI-generated music becomes more prevalent, it is crucial to address these issues to ensure fair compensation and protect the rights of artists and creators.
