Warner Music asks court to throw out musicians' union lawsuit over AI deal
The American Federation of Musicians argues that artists have not been offered "compensation or credit" for their music to be used to train AI models
Warner Music Group (WMG) has requested that a US court throw out a case brought against it by a musicians' union over a deal with AI firms Suno and Udio.
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) launched a lawsuit against both WMG and fellow major label Universal Music Group (UMG) last month, with court documents seen by Music Business Worldwide citing their agreements to allow Suno and Udio to train AI using licensed music.
The AFM argues that this deal was struck "without compensation or credit" for the musicians that have created the licensed music, signalling a breach of the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) under "new use" provisions.
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"At the same time, they have refused to provide information to the AFM about which recordings and whose work is being licensed," lawyers for the US musicians' union said in the filing.
According to Music Business Worldwide, WMG requested on Friday (July 10) that the lawsuit be dismissed, claiming it was filed in an "improper attempt to place a judicial thumb on the negotiation scales."
WMG's legal team claims that, due to the fact that platforms like Suno and Udio "did not exist" when agreements with artists were signed, the corporation is not liable to offer compensation relating to licensing for training AI models.
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"Because no contract entitles AFM members to any portion of AI licensing revenues, neither AFM nor its members have been injured," new filings read.
In November, WMG settled its copyright infringement lawsuit with Udio, reaching an agreement that allows the AI start-up to offer a "licensed AI music creation service", claiming the deal would "create new revenue streams for artists and songwriters".
Days later, WMG confirmed that it had reached a similar settlement with Suno, claiming it would "compensate and protect artists, songwriters, and the wider creative community" while giving them "full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music."
[Via: Music Business Worldwide]
Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.