Is Suno about to face the music — that it just ripped off?
For those watching in disbelief as ‘I Run’ started sprinting away on TikTok, Spotify, and seemingly every other platform, perhaps there’s poetic justice in the music industry, after all.
As DMN first reported just hours ago, Jorja Smith’s label, FAMM, is now demanding both credit and royalties from HAVEN’s ‘I Run,’ which was instantly mistaken for a Jorja Smith track. Smith is also inked to Sony Music Publishing, which is actively suing Suno and hasn’t announced a settlement.
Perhaps Suno’s decision to ‘go legit’ is more complicated than it looks. And judging by the tone of FAMM’s multi-paged demand, the ‘ask nicely’ part is long over.
In a searing takedown, the London-based FAMM wasted little time body-slamming Suno for ripping off its prized artist.
Indeed, Jorja Smith is a well-known name in the dance world — and one does not simply appropriate a top EDM singer’s voice, make a charting viral TikTok track out of it, and refuse to offer any credit or money back.
“Haven and his team have now replaced the AI vocal with a real human’s vocal, although we still believe both versions of the track infringe on Jorja’s rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all of the songwriters with whom she collaborates,” the label blasted.
Also worth noting: FAMM says it tried unsuccessfully to join forces with the various labels and producers behind HAVEN. Hence the less-than-polite takedown.
The HAVEN co-conspirators include producers Harrison Walker and Jacob Donaghue, as well as Isekai Records, Against All Odds (AAO), Broke Records, and Create Music Group, none of whom seemed willing to collaborate.
But one thing was missing from FAMM’s public demand: a lawsuit. But is that coming in 3…2…1…?
Chatting with power-barristers in the industry, FAMM seems to have a strong case, particularly given that the producers and labels behind HAVEN appeared to have deliberately — and falsely — manufactured the impression that this was Jorja on the track. And that’s before the Suno-specific infringement issues come into play.
But where’s the complaint?
And, more interestingly, what law firm(s) and power attorney(s) might represent FAMM and Jorja Smith?
If this goes to the tribunals, grab some popcorn: FAMM v. HAVEN, Suno, et. al. could become a celebrated legal battle over AI music, ‘Name, Image, and Likeness’ (NIL) appropriation, and various newfangled copyright infringement issues.
Even more interesting is what this might mean for Suno’s just-inked deal with Warner Music Group — with other major labels theoretically also finalizing their own partnerships. Could Jorja and FAMM single-handedly blow up Suno’s well-crafted major label agreements and plans to go legit?
A major lawsuit from Smith could prompt others to press pause on any settlement or opt-in decisions. Separately, a cabal of pissed-off indie artists isn’t settling for anything, with Woulard v. Suno (1:25-cv-12684) and Justice v. Suno (1:25-cv-11739) plowing forward.
Toss some FAMM-led litigation on that pile with a Hook Music lawsuit sprinkled on top, and Suno’s still stuck in litigation-land — while being forced to hobble their future app and download capabilities.
Incidentally, more than a few industry movers+shakers seemed perplexed by Suno’s decision to bury its legal battle with the major labels.
Investors are notoriously loath to finance lawyers instead of a product. But in the ‘disrupt at all costs’ ethos of Silicon Valley, did Suno miss a big opportunity by failing to secure a fair use ruling on copyright?
Others in the tech space seemed flummoxed by Suno’s decision to follow Udio and hobble its platform with limited downloads and inputs, a move one tech investor lamented ‘rolls out the red carpet for a serious Chinese competitor.’
Shifting over to what this means for the trajectory of AI music hits: can handcuffed versions of Udio and Suno ever produce a number-one smash?
‘I Run’ quickly became one of the highest-charting AI-generated tracks in history, and easily the biggest in the dance/EDM world. But as DMN Pro’s latest research ponders, would this have been possible under the upcoming Suno restrictions?
Given that any inputs on future Suno and Udio platforms are opt-in, there’s reason to believe that Suno’s hit-making days are over. Case in point: if Jorja Smith doesn’t opt in, anything that uses Jorja Smith’s IP is instantly copyright infringement. Multiply that by the tens of thousands of artists who want nothing to do with Suno, and out pops a pretty bland AI creation engine.
But those are merely ruminations on future versions of Suno, whose outputs will be theoretically protected against infringement lawsuits. For now, the question centers on the material spit out before those product retrofits are implemented — including the offending versions of ‘I Run’.
And this goes deeper than a pretty voice. FAMM also believes that AI was used not only to generate the soundalike vocal but also to write the lyrics and melody of ‘I Run,’ suggesting that Suno’s AI was trained on Jorja Smith’s entire catalog.
Actually, make that two bowls of popcorn.
