Multibillion-dollar platform is publicly streaming AI‑generated outputs that replicate songs in SOCAN’s repertoire without consent or compensation
SOCAN has filed a lawsuit against Suno Inc., alleging that the company’s generative AI platform is producing and streaming outputs that replicate human-created musical works without consent or payment, and as a result has infringed the performing rights in musical works in SOCAN’s repertoire.
“SOCAN has a responsibility to act when the rights of music creators and publishers are put at risk. The evidence shows that the Suno platform has generated and streamed outputs that copy works in our repertoire, and that cannot go unchallenged,” said Jennifer Brown, SOCAN CEO. “Innovation can’t come at the expense of human creativity. The future of music must belong to the people who make it.”
Suno has built its business by training its generative AI models on virtually all music files readily accessible on the Internet, without obtaining the necessary permissions or licences. SOCAN has identified Suno outputs that are identical or similar to songs in SOCAN’s repertoire and have been generated and streamed without consent or compensation.
SOCAN’s legal action is a necessary and proactive step to ensure that human music creation is valued, respected, and compensated.
Allegations of infringement
SOCAN’s claim alleges that, by making the Suno platform available to the public in Canada, using it to generate and make available outputs that replicate songs in SOCAN’s repertoire, and streaming those outputs to users in Canada and around the world, Suno has infringed SOCAN’s performing rights in the underlying songs. The lawsuit lists a sample of 150 publicly available Suno outputs that SOCAN has identified. SOCAN expects other unauthorized outputs and activities to come to light as the litigation progresses.
“Suno’s failure to meet its copyright obligations led us to pursue litigation,” said Andrea Kokonis, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel. “Our evidence is clear, and so is our objective: to establish that AI companies must respect the rights of music creators and publishers. This case is fundamentally about ensuring that long‑standing copyright principles continue to apply in the AI era.”
SOCAN’s action asserts that AI development must operate within the law and respect the rights of those who make music possible.
SOCAN will not comment on the claim beyond what is in the court record.
For more information visit the SOCAN litigation webpage.
About SOCAN
SOCAN is Canada’s largest member-owned music rights organization, championing the fundamental value of music and the people who create it. SOCAN collects license fees for the public performance and reproduction of music, matches them to rights holders, and distributes them as royalties to songwriters, composers and music creators and publishers in Canada and around the world. With more than a century of expertise and innovation, SOCAN stands for respect and fair compensation for creative work – protecting, recognizing, and celebrating its over 200,000 songwriter, composer, and music publisher members. For more information: www.socan.com.