Company behind viral 'BBL Drizzy' AI Drake diss track faces lawsuit

Major labels and artists like Drake and Billie Eilish confront AI firms for using music without permission.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), representing giants like Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, and Warner Records, has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against AI startups Suno and Uncharted Labs, the creator of Udio. 

The labels allege that these companies have unlawfully used their sound recordings to train AI models for generating music without proper licensing.

Udio, known for its viral AI-generated song "BBL Drizzy" amid the Kendrick Lamar and Drake controversy, was founded by ex-Google DeepMind researchers with a mission to simplify music creation. 

Despite raising $10 million in funding this April, Udio now faces legal challenges for its development practices.

Suno, which recently secured $125 million in funding, allows users to create songs from minimal prompts, utilizing OpenAI’s ChatGPT for lyrics and title crafting. 

With over 10 million users and approximately 2 million streams, Suno has been accused of releasing music that competes directly with original artists' work without obtaining necessary permissions or offering compensation.

RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier emphasized the necessity of the lawsuits to establish clear rules for ethical AI development and to halt what he calls "blatant infringement" by Suno and Udio. Glazier also noted that while the music community is open to collaborating with responsible AI developers, it is crucial to protect artists' rights and ensure they are compensated fairly.

In April, over 200 artists including Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, and Katy Perry signed an open letter urging AI developers and tech companies to respect artists' rights and stop using AI to undermine human creativity.

The letter argues for AI's potential to aid music creation if done with respect for copyright laws but warns of the damage to the music industry and cultural heritage if misused.