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Musician Jason Isbell has filed a lawsuit against Suno, the artificial intelligence music company, claiming the platform used artists’ identities to train its systems without permission. The case, filed in Massachusetts federal court, marks a shift in legal challenges against AI music firms, focusing on violations of right-of-publicity laws rather than copyright infringement.
According to the complaint, Suno allegedly encoded the likenesses and characteristics of numerous performers into its AI model and now profits from generating songs that mimic these artists’ distinctive styles. The lawsuit demonstrates this by providing examples of AI-generated tracks created by simply entering artist names into the platform—songs that replicate specific vocal qualities, musical genres, and visual aesthetics associated with the named performers.
The suit contends that while musicians may sell rights to individual recordings, their personal identities remain protected under publicity rights unless separately licensed. The complaint argues that Suno knowingly exploits these identities for commercial gain. Suno has denied the allegations, stating the company includes safeguards to prevent misuse of artist names and works with third-party technology to screen for unauthorized content.
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Originally reported by Rollingstone →
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