Sony Music and UMG Target Suno's v6 AI Model in $9B Copyright Lawsuit

Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group have initiated a new lawsuit against artificial intelligence music generator Suno, alleging that the startup's latest v6 model infringes on their copyrights by incorporating data derived from unauthorized recordings.

The legal action, initially reported by Variety and detailed in court filings obtained by Music Business Worldwide, challenges Suno's assertions regarding its latest system. The v6 model is the first architecture the company has shipped since securing licensing agreements with Warner Music Group and BMG, as well as establishing a distribution partnership with Believe.

According to reporting by Engadget, the labels argue that the new model remains legally compromised. Sony Music and UMG cite Suno's public disclosures stating that v6 was trained on user interactions, outputs, and preference signals from earlier systems. The plaintiffs contend those foundational iterations were constructed by copying proprietary sound recordings without consent, meaning downstream training signals remain tied to infringed works.

The plaintiffs allege Suno may be liable for infringing at least 60,202 copyrighted sound recordings. Under U.S. copyright law, statutory damages could reach up to $9 billion, alongside potential statutory penalties of up to $2,500 for each alleged circumvention of YouTube anti-downloading technical protections during earlier data-gathering operations.

Suno rejected the allegations in a statement to Engadget, maintaining that the legal challenges misunderstand its development process.

"These claims remain fundamentally flawed on both the facts and the law," a Suno spokesperson told Engadget, stating that "Suno exists so that more people can make new music."

"Over the past two years, we have doubled down on this goal, launching v6 in partnership with WMG, BMG, and Believe," the company added. "v6 was trained on content licensed from our partners, interactions including creations and preference signals from our community, and the accumulated learnings from our team. We are excited for a future where AI and the music industry continue to strengthen one another and build entirely new product experiences for artists, fans and the broader music community."

The filing builds upon earlier litigation by Sony Music, UMG, and WMG, as well as details exposed in a July 2026 data breach indicating that Suno scraped millions of tracks and lyrics from platforms including YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius. While Suno historically defended web scraping under fair use and deprecated older models when releasing v6, the lawsuit tests whether legal exposure persists when subsequent models rely on synthetic data or preference tuning derived from disputed base datasets.