We are the music makers

Topic

Legal

  • UMG calls DistroKid an "AI-slop pipeline", and human indie artists are getting swept out with the slop

    Universal Music Group sued DistroKid in Delaware on 15 Sep 2026, calling it an "AI-slop pipeline" and citing one account that released 4,562 tracks in a year. DistroKid has since confirmed it removed "a very small number" of recordings in response to UMG's claims, and independent artists say original and licensed work went with them, with no notice and no clear way to appeal.

    Industryvia US District Court for the District of Delaware (via CourtListener)

  • Small claims for songs: how the US Copyright Claims Board works for musicians

    The US Copyright Claims Board lets you pursue an infringement claim of up to $30,000 online, without a lawyer, for a $100 filing fee. It only works if your song is registered (or at least applied for), the other side is in the US, and they choose not to opt out.

    Artist rightsvia Copyright Claims Board

  • The DOJ says AI training is fair use. Music's best arguments were never about training

    The US Justice Department has told the court in the New York Times' case against OpenAI that training AI models on copyrighted text is fair use, and it goes out of its way to reject the "market dilution" theory the music industry leans on. It leaves outputs, data sourcing and identity open, and that is where artists' claims are strongest.

    Artist rightsvia US Department of Justice (copy hosted by MusicTechPolicy)

  • France may flip the burden of proof on AI training: SACEM, its opt-out and the Darcos Bill

    France's Senate has passed a one-article bill that would presume an AI provider used a protected work whenever there is a plausible sign that it did, leaving the provider to prove otherwise. SACEM, which has opted its repertoire out of AI mining since October 2023, wants it passed. It has been stuck in the National Assembly since June, and the reason it matters is that an opt-out is hard to enforce if you can't prove your music was used.

    Artist rightsvia Sénat

  • Munich court: a model that memorises songs is copying them

    A Munich court has largely ruled for GEMA against Suno over six songs, finding they were memorised inside Suno's v3.5 and v4 models and that this is copying. It also applied US fair use to Suno's US training and rejected it. The ruling isn't final, and its limits matter as much as the headline.

    Artist rightsvia Landgericht München I

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