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SOCAN is standing up for music creators and publishers.
We have sued Suno for the unauthorized use of songs in SOCAN’s repertoire.
The future of music cannot be decided without the people who make it.
Suno has built a multibillion-dollar generative AI platform, trained without consent on virtually all readily-accessible online music. The platform makes available and publicly streams, in Canada and around the world, AI-generated outputs that replicate songs in SOCAN’s repertoire, all without permission or compensation. Suno outputs act as substitutes for original works, replacing the value of human creativity and undermining creators’ livelihoods.
In its lawsuit, SOCAN lists a sample of 150 publicly available outputs that Suno has made available and streamed on its platform in Canada. Those findings reflect only a sample of Suno’s broader unauthorized activity and demonstrate the urgent need for responsible AI practices.
SOCAN has gathered clear, verifiable examples of Suno outputs that contain the entirety or a substantial part of songs in SOCAN’s repertoire.
These outputs are easily found on Suno’s platform by using the “Explore” page, which allows anyone to search for outputs, playlists, creators, or genres.
Below are a few examples of original songs in SOCAN’s repertoire, along with the MP3 of the Suno output for comparison.
SOCAN is asking the court to require Suno to comply with copyright law, stop making infringing outputs available, and respect the rights of music creators and publishers whenever their works are used.
SOCAN welcomes innovation that complies with the law and respects music creators and publishers. We seek partners committed to ethical, rights-respecting AI development and use that strengthens the music ecosystem.
Creators were never asked, never informed, and never given the chance to say no.
Music is created by people. Songwriters and composers, supported by their music publishers, depend on the integrity of their work for their livelihoods. When AI systems generate musical outputs, those outputs can replace the real thing. That undermines creators’ ability to earn income, build careers, and sustain the cultural ecosystem that makes music possible.
Copyright laws ensure that creators are respected, valued, and compensated. SOCAN’s action reinforces that the laws that protect music creators and publishers must apply equally in the AI era. Innovation cannot override the rights of the people whose work fuels it.
SOCAN supports AI innovation when it is lawful, transparent, and fair. The future of music and AI technology depends on responsible partnerships between rightsholders and music users. This case asserts that AI companies must operate within the law and respect the rights of those whose works they use.
Songwriters, composers and music publishers rely on SOCAN to safeguard their rights. By taking principled action, SOCAN reinforces its leadership in shaping a future where technology and creativity coexist responsibly with respect for creators’ rights.
Generative AI is artificial intelligence that creates new content. Generative AI platforms generate text, images, audio, video, code, or other data in response to users’ prompts. They learn patterns from massive datasets which are often scraped from the Internet.
SOCAN is taking legal action against Suno to protect the rights of music creators and publishers to prevent the unauthorized use of their songs.
SOCAN advocates for the ART Principles: Authorization, Remuneration, and Transparency. When services do not abide by those principles, it is a detriment to human creators who rely on royalties to live and create. SOCAN must protect its members against Suno’s unauthorized and infringing actions.
Based on the evidence SOCAN has obtained to date, there is no doubt that Suno streams and makes available songs in SOCAN’s repertoire without authorization from SOCAN. It is SOCAN’s position that, by doing so, Suno has infringed the performing rights in those songs. If a generative AI service like Suno uses SOCAN’s repertoire without consent, Canadian courts should award damages to SOCAN for those infringing activities and should put a stop to future infringements.
This case focuses on clear, documented examples of outputs generated by Suno that are identical or substantially similar to songs in SOCAN’s repertoire. The claim identifies a sample of 150 outputs that are publicly available on the Suno platform and closely replicate songs in SOCAN’s repertoire. That is only a subset of the activities that SOCAN considers to be infringing.
SOCAN’s claim identifies clear, documented matches between certain Suno outputs and songs in SOCAN’s repertoire, meaning AI-generated outputs that contain the entirety or a substantial part of songs in SOCAN’s repertoire.
We will not comment on any activities that are not addressed in our claim. What we can say is that songwriters, composers, and music publishers deserve to have their rights respected whenever generative AI platforms use their songs and generate and make available outputs that are identical or substantially similar to those songs.
This case is about ensuring that longstanding copyright principles continue to apply in the AI era. Our focus is on the best interests of our members and the evidence before the court. Read the statement of claim including list of songs included.
No, SOCAN has neither issued a licence nor received any royalty payments from Suno.
SOCAN absolutely sees value in AI, especially where it can improve data accuracy, speed up matching, reduce errors, and help ensure music creators and publishers get paid correctly. We support AI as a tool that strengthens the music ecosystem. We do not support AI as a replacement for human creativity, nor do we support AI platforms who fail to abide by the ART principles (Authorization, Remuneration and Transparency).
There should be no use of copyright-protected works, including music, without authorization, remuneration, and transparency. These are cornerstone principles that SOCAN advocates for and expects AI companies to comply with. If AI companies fail to abide by these principles, SOCAN will not hesitate to take action to ensure that the rights of its members are fully protected and lead to fair compensation.
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