Wednesday Jul 8
ENTERTAINMENTSony

Suno Uses Udio's Win Against Sony

6JUL
$9B AT STAKE

A ruling for one AI music company just helped its rival. Suno cited it to fight Sony's bid to expand its own case. Sony wants tens of thousands more songs added.

The original Suno complaint listed just 560 songs, worth $84 million max.

Adding 61,000 more pushes the theoretical damages past $9 billion.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected a nearly identical expansion in the Udio case.

He said adding 30,000 works this late would 'materially alter the scope.'

Suno's lawyer, Britt Lovejoy, is asking a different judge to follow that logic.

Both companies still argue AI training on copyrighted songs counts as fair use.

A summary judgment ruling on that question could set the industry's precedent.

full brief & sources

⚡ Why this matters

  • The size of the case caps how much Suno could owe if it loses.
  • A favorable ruling here doesn't decide fair use, but it limits the damages ceiling.
  • The eventual fair use ruling will set precedent for every AI music company.

🔍 What happened

  • Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected Sony's bid to add 30,442 songs to the Udio case on July 2.
  • He called the timing too late, close to the end of discovery.
  • Suno filed on July 5 asking Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to apply the same logic.
  • Sony and Universal want to add 61,026 songs to Suno's case.
  • Statutory damages cap at $150,000 per work, making the stakes $9 billion versus $84 million.
  • Suno has raised over $400 million this year at a $5.4 billion valuation.

💬 Smart takes

  • Judge Hellerstein: adding 30,000 works late 'would require substantial additional production and review.'
  • Britt Lovejoy, Suno's counsel: the labels are running 'a too-familiar page from the standard playbook' of rightsholders.
  • Skeptic: a procedural win on case size says nothing about whether AI training on copyrighted music is fair use.

🧭 Where this goes

  1. LikelyJudge Saylor caps Suno's case near its original 560-work scope.
  2. Likelyboth sides file for summary judgment on fair use later this year.
  3. Possiblethe fair use ruling splits, transformative for training but not for outputs.
  4. Wild Carda loss forces Suno or Udio into a Napster-style shutdown-and-relaunch under license.

🥄 The Spoon Take

The labels want the biggest damages number before a fair use ruling lands. Suno wants the smallest possible case before that ruling lands. Neither side has won the real fight, but these housekeeping wins shape how big it gets.

🤔 Pushback

This is a procedural win on case size, not a signal either company will win the actual fair use fight.

·Music Business Worldwide - Suno cites Udio ruling·Digital Music News - Suno seizes on win·Digital Music News - Udio case rejected