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BMG Sues Anthropic Over Alleged Use of Song Lyrics in AI Training

By  |  March 18, 2026
BMG Sues Anthropic Over Alleged Use of Song Lyrics in AI Training

Music publisher BMG Rights Management has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Anthropic in a California federal court, accusing the company of using copyrighted song lyrics without authorization to train its AI systems, according to Reuters.

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    The complaint, filed Tuesday, alleges that Anthropic copied and reproduced lyrics from popular songs performed by major artists including the Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars and Ariana Grande. BMG claims these actions infringed on hundreds of copyrights tied to its catalog, per Reuters.

    The case adds to a growing wave of legal challenges targeting technology companies over their use of copyrighted material in developing large language models that power chatbots and other AI tools. According to Reuters, similar lawsuits have been brought by authors, media organizations and other rights holders who argue their work has been used without permission.

    This is not the first time Anthropic has faced legal action over its training practices. A separate lawsuit filed in 2023 by Universal Music Group and other music publishers is still ongoing, according to Reuters. The company also previously settled a case brought by a group of authors for $1.5 billion last year.

    Read more: US Courts Poised to Shape the Future of AI Copyright Battles in 2026

    BMG, which is owned by German media company Bertelsmann, cited 493 specific instances in which it alleges Anthropic violated its copyrights. Under U.S. law, statutory damages for copyright infringement can range from several hundred dollars to as much as $150,000 per work if the infringement is found to be willful, per Reuters.

    Anthropic and BMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

    Technology companies developing AI systems have consistently argued that their use of copyrighted material falls under fair use, claiming the data is transformed into new outputs rather than reproduced directly. However, the outcome of cases like BMG’s could have significant implications for how AI models are trained and what data they are allowed to use going forward.

    Source: Reuters