Sony Music files a second copyright suit against Udio, alleging the AI music company copied 30,117 recordings without permission to train its AI models
Sony Music Entertainment has filed a second copyright infringement lawsuit against Udio, asserting 30,117 sound recordings …
Context & Ripple Effects
Sony Music had already warned hundreds of AI developers and platforms about unlicensed training use through its broad training-data warning campaign. The dispute then moved into court when the RIAA brought claims against Udio and Suno, while Udio argued that training on proprietary music could be fair use in its response to the labels' litigation.
The new filing arrives against a more complicated backdrop: major labels and the AI music startups were reportedly discussing licensing arrangements and settlements in 2025 alongside the unresolved litigation. A second Sony action makes the provenance and permission status of training recordings more central to Udio's commercial position.
First-order effects
- Udio faces another copyright claim from Sony Music and allegations tied to 30,117 recordings, increasing the legal pressure around the corpus used to train its models.
- Sony gains an additional vehicle to press its position that use of its recordings for AI training requires permission, rather than relying solely on industry-wide warnings or the earlier RIAA case.
Second-order effects
- The filing strengthens labels' leverage in any licensing or settlement discussions with AI music companies, because a negotiated catalogue deal may be weighed against continued litigation exposure.
- Other generative-music providers will face greater pressure to document training-data sources and permissions, particularly where their models were built using commercially released recordings.
Third-order effects
- If labels continue to pursue claims alongside licensing talks, AI music may develop around governed, licensed catalogues rather than unrestricted collection of recorded music—a model whose cost and accessibility will shape which providers can compete.
- Court treatment of fair-use arguments in these disputes could set a broader boundary for commercial AI training on copyrighted media; until then, litigation and private licensing are likely to coexist.
The trend: Generative-media companies are being pushed from disputed training-data practices toward auditable, rights-cleared content supply chains.