Musicians Union Takes Warner and Universal to Court Over AI Training Rights

According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed on Friday and centers on licensing arrangements tied to settlements the music companies reached with AI music generators Suno and Udio. The union argues those agreements permitted the continued use of recordings created by its members while failing to provide payment or obtain authorization from the musicians themselves.

The AFM, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is seeking unspecified monetary damages, claiming the labels violated provisions of their labor agreement. Per Reuters, the union contends that Warner and Universal effectively authorized AI developers to train systems using recordings performed by union musicians, despite concerns previously raised by the music industry about the technology’s impact on artists.

In its complaint, the union stated that Warner and Universal allowed AI companies to do “exactly” what the labels had previously warned against: “Training AI models to generate supposedly ‘new’ sound recordings derived from music ingested into their models.”

The lawsuit further alleges that the labels benefited financially from their agreements while musicians received no share of the proceeds. The complaint states: “While the defendants protected their own interests and created a significant source of new revenue with the retrospective settlements and prospective licenses, they have refused to compensate the musicians whose work – created with their own instruments and through their talent, creativity, and hard work – is fed into AI machines for profit.”

According to Reuters, the legal dispute follows a broader wave of copyright litigation involving AI developers and content owners. In 2024, Warner Music, Universal Music, and Sony Music sued Suno and Udio, accusing the companies of unlawfully copying copyrighted recordings to train AI systems capable of generating music that could “directly compete with, cheapen, and ultimately drown out” the work of human artists.

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Since then, several of those cases have been resolved. Warner and Universal reached settlements with Udio last year, while Warner also settled its case against Suno. Universal’s lawsuit against Suno remains pending. Per Reuters, the agreements allow the AI companies to incorporate licensed music from the labels into their AI models. Sony Music has not reached settlements with either company and is not named as a defendant in the AFM lawsuit.

Universal Music defended its approach to AI-related licensing. A spokesperson for the company said it has “been at the forefront of protecting the rights and advancing the interests of artists and songwriters in the age of AI — striking responsible AI licensing agreements to ensure they are compensated, leading the charge for legislation to further protect them and taking legal action against bad actors.”

The spokesperson added: “The AFM chose this route during our collective bargaining negotiations, and we will continue to work to resolve any issues through these negotiations, as we have in the past.”

Reuters reported that representatives for Warner Music and the AFM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople for Suno and Udio, which are not defendants in the case, also did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

The case is titled American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada v. Warner Music Group Corp, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under case number 1:26-cv-04760. The AFM is represented by attorney Eyad Asad of Cohen Weiss & Simon.

Source: Reuters