The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed two copyright infringement lawsuits against music generation services Suno and Udio, accusing them of using artificial intelligence (AI) to mass produce copyrighted sound recordings without permission. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of major record companies, including Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc., and Warner Records, Inc., which hold the rights to the recordings.

The cases cover a wide range of music genres, styles, and eras, with the RIAA stating that the unlicensed use of AI technology is on a "massive scale." The organization's Chairman and CEO, Mitch Glazier, emphasized the importance of responsible AI development and collaboration with the music industry.

"We can only succeed if developers are willing to work together with us," Glazier said. "Unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it's 'fair' to copy an artist's life's work and exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all."

The lawsuits aim to stop Suno and Udio from continuing their unlicensed use of copyrighted sound recordings and to establish the importance of ethical and lawful development of generative AI systems. The RIAA's Chief Legal Officer, Ken Doroshow, emphasized the need for these lawsuits, stating that they are necessary to "reinforce the most basic rules of the road" for responsible AI development.

One notable example of an AI-generated song is "BBL Drizzy," an R&B parody released in May that went viral last month. It was created using Udio, a generative AI model that allows users to generate music from text prompts. Suno, on the other hand, consists of a team of musicians and AI experts who use DeepAI's ChatGPT to generate lyrics.

The lawsuit highlights the ongoing debate over the role of AI in the music industry, with some arguing that AI-generated music can be creative and innovative, while others believe it infringes on the rights of artists and songwriters.