RIAA v. Udio: The US Record Labels' AI Copyright Lawsuit, Explained
Yes — Udio is still running, and two of the three major labels have already settled and turned the fight into licensing deals. But Sony is still litigating in New York, where a judge refused to throw out a key claim — so Udio's future is a licensed, walled-garden platform rather than the open tool it started as.
Timeline of key events
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Sony moves to assert 30,304 recordings
Sony seeks to amend its complaint to prosecute 30,304 specific recordings it identified through audio fingerprinting, calling the figure 'only a fraction' of the matches it found.
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Udio admits scraping audio from YouTube
Answering Sony's amended complaint, Udio denies infringement but admits it obtained audio training data from YouTube.
Music Business Worldwide -
Judge lets the DMCA claim proceed
The court denies Udio's motion to dismiss the labels' DMCA anti-circumvention claim over how training audio was obtained — a significant early win for the labels.
Legal client alert -
Warner settles and signs a licensing deal
Warner Music drops its claims and agrees to a licensing deal for Udio's next-generation, artist-approved platform — leaving Sony as the only major still suing.
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Universal Music settles with Udio
Universal becomes the first major to settle, agreeing to build a licensed, subscription-based platform launching in 2026 with artist opt-in — and Udio suspends downloads of generated tracks.
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Labels open licensing talks with Udio and Suno
Reports emerge that Sony, Universal and Warner are negotiating licensing deals and equity stakes with the AI platforms rather than relying on litigation alone.
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Udio admits training on copyrighted recordings
Udio concedes in its court response that it trained on copyrighted recordings, but argues the use is transformative fair use.
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RIAA files suit against Udio in New York
On behalf of Sony, Universal and Warner, the RIAA sues Udio (Uncharted Labs) in the Southern District of New York for mass copyright infringement, seeking up to $150,000 per work.
RIAA press release
What is the RIAA vs Udio lawsuit?
On June 24, 2024, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued the AI music platform Udio — built by Uncharted Labs — in New York federal court on behalf of the three major record companies: Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The allegation mirrors the case filed the same day against Suno: that Udio trained its AI on copyrighted sound recordings without permission, then used them to generate competing music.
The labels are seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. But the Udio case has moved faster toward resolution than the Suno one — two of the three majors have already settled.
Who is involved?
The case is coordinated by the RIAA and brought by Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group as plaintiffs. They have since diverged: Universal and Warner both settled in late 2025, leaving Sony Music as the only major still litigating.
Udio (legally Uncharted Labs) is a US-based generative AI platform that creates full songs from text prompts, known for high audio quality. It is the New York counterpart to Suno in the labels’ coordinated legal campaign.
Why are the labels suing Udio?
As in the Suno case, the labels argue Udio copied their recordings to build a competing product without a licence. Udio admitted in August 2024 that it had trained on copyrighted recordings but claimed transformative fair use.
The case then turned on how Udio got its data. In April 2026, Udio admitted it had obtained training audio by scraping audio from YouTube — which underpins a separate DMCA “anti-circumvention” claim about bypassing YouTube’s protections.
Where does the case stand now?
The case is mostly settled, but not over. Universal Music settled first, in October 2025, agreeing to build a licensed, subscription-based platform with Udio launching in 2026 — and Udio suspended downloads of generated tracks as part of the shift. Warner Music settled next, in November 2025, with its own licensing deal.
Sony Music has not settled. In April 2026, the New York court denied Udio’s motion to dismiss the DMCA claim, letting it proceed. Then in May 2026, Sony moved to assert 30,304 specific recordings it identified through audio fingerprinting — calling that figure “only a fraction” of the matches it found. A status conference is set for July 10, 2026.
What the settlements mean
The Universal and Warner deals are a template for where AI music is heading: not free, open tools, but licensed platforms built with the labels. In practice that means artist opt-in over their voices and catalogues, in-app-only playback, and the end of unrestricted downloading and sharing. Sony’s continued fight is the holdout — and the unresolved DMCA claim keeps real legal risk on the table even as the commercial deals pile up.
What this means for you
Udio still works, but it is actively transforming. Plan around the direction, not just today’s features:
- Udio is becoming a walled garden. Expect playback inside the platform, opt-in artist voices, and far tighter rules on exporting tracks for outside use.
- Downloads are already affected. Universal’s settlement suspended downloads of generated tracks — a sign of how licensed platforms will work.
- Sourcing matters legally. The surviving DMCA claim shows that how an AI tool got its data can create liability on its own — worth remembering when you choose which tools to build a catalogue on.
How this fits the bigger picture
RIAA v. Udio is the New York half of the labels’ two-front US campaign; the Suno case in Boston is the other, and there only Warner has settled. A separate GEMA case in Germany targets songwriters’ compositions rather than recordings. Across all of them, the same question runs underneath: must AI companies pay for the music they train on — and what does a licensed AI-music future actually look like?
Frequently asked questions
- What is the RIAA vs Udio lawsuit about?
- On June 24, 2024, the RIAA sued Udio (Uncharted Labs) in New York federal court on behalf of Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, alleging Udio trained its AI on copyrighted sound recordings without permission. The labels seek up to $150,000 per work.
- Has Udio settled the RIAA vs Udio lawsuit?
- Mostly. In the RIAA vs Udio case, Universal Music settled in October 2025 and Warner Music in November 2025, both agreeing to build licensed AI platforms with Udio. Sony Music has not settled and is still litigating in New York.
- Can I still use Udio while the RIAA vs Udio lawsuit is ongoing?
- Yes, but it's changing. Udio remains available, but the RIAA vs Udio settlements are reshaping it into a licensed, subscription-based 'walled garden' — with artist opt-in and downloads of generated tracks suspended.
- How is the RIAA vs Udio lawsuit different from the RIAA vs Suno lawsuit?
- Both were filed by the RIAA on the same day in June 2024, but the RIAA vs Udio case is in New York and has settled more fully — Universal and Warner are both out, leaving only Sony. In the parallel RIAA vs Suno case in Boston, only Warner has settled, with Sony and Universal still fighting.
- What does the DMCA ruling mean for Udio?
- In April 2026 the New York court refused to dismiss the labels' DMCA claim about how Udio obtained its training audio. It signals that how an AI company sources its data — not just whether training is fair use — can carry legal liability.