Hagens Berman Joins Fight Against AI Music Generation Companies Udio and Suno Allegedly Engaged in Practices That Steal Independent Artists’ Online Music Content

SEATTLE – Attorneys at Hagens Berman have joined forces with attorneys at Delgado Entertainment Law PLLC to represent independent music artists whose copyrighted songs were allegedly copied without permission to train AI music-generation platforms Udio and Suno.

The lawsuits allege that Udio and Suno circumvented the technological measures employed by YouTube, Spotify and other online distributors to train respective AI music generation models and create infringing works. The allegedly stolen media includes “tens of millions” of “publicly available” sources, the majority of which are songs owned and controlled by independent artists. On June 22, 2026, the firms filed an amended complaint against Udio in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Affected musicians and producers include those who published their music via streaming platforms since 2021. Find out more about your potential rights against Udio and Suno.

“Independent artists and producers represent the heart and soul of the music industry, and in the landscape of AI, they stand to lose the most,” said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman. “We believe that Udio and Suno have blatantly stolen works from millions of independent artists and have violated the terms of online platforms in order to do so.”

The complaint alleges that Udio’s actions “…were not only unlawful, but an unconscionable attack on the music community’s most vulnerable and valuable creators.”

Krystle Delgado, lead attorney in the class actions and founder of Delgado Entertainment Law, emphasized the importance of the collaboration as the cases continue to move forward.

“Working alongside a firm with the experience and track record of Hagens Berman strengthens our ability to pursue these claims and advocate for independent artists at scale.”

How Illegally Training AI Models Harms Artists

The lawsuits seek to represent several proposed classes of independent artists via named plaintiffs Anthony Justice, 5th Wheel Records Inc. and Heartland Publishing LLC.

According to the lawsuit, Udio and Suno’s AI training models take songs available on the internet without authorization, then repackage them into competing AI-generated songs. This theft therefore competes in the same marketplace with musicians whose works were stolen in the first place.

The lawsuits claim these offenses have come at a significant cost to independent artists, citing that Spotify reported paying $10 billion in music royalties to artists and rightsholders, a large portion of which belongs to independent artists, according to Spotify.

On May 21, 2026, the federal district court in the case against Udio denied in part Udio’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, upholding claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Plaintiffs await another federal court’s response to Suno’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against it.

“Udio and Suno have attempted to hide their infringement behind flimsy fair-use arguments that we believe do not hold up to their behavior, and our team is eager to join forces with Delgado Entertainment Law to uphold the rights of artists,” Berman said. “These cases join our firm’s proven track record in the areas of image rights litigation and complex, high tech matters, an area of law ripe with instances of underhanded tactics that tech companies attempt to veil under the guise of innovation.”

The firm is also currently pursuing wrongful death claims against ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI.

The lawsuits against Udio and Suno seek both fair and proper damages to compensate artists who have been harmed by these alleged actions, as well as an injunction forcing an end to “massive and ongoing infringement” of artists’ rights.

Find out more about the lawsuits on behalf of independent music artists against Udio and Suno.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm, MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

About Delgado Entertainment Law
Founded in 2014 by Krystle Delgado, Delgado Entertainment Law (which remains a solo female-owned entertainment firm) has grown into a 17-person nationally recognized boutique entertainment, business and intellectual property litigation firm, representing creators, entrepreneurs, estates and creative enterprises in complex disputes, high-stakes ownership claims, acquisitions and sales and rights enforcement actions that directly impact revenue and control of valuable assets.

Media Contacts
Ash Klann
Hagens Berman
[email protected]
206-623-9318

Samantha Wilson
Delgado Entertainment Law
[email protected]
469-573-3190