Suno moves to drop Jason Isbell suit over AI music prompts

Suno, the developer of an artificial intelligence music generator, filed a motion on Tuesday to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought by Americana singer Jason Isbell and three other musicians. The company contends that allowing users to reference specific artists in their prompts is a standard method of describing musical styles and does not constitute a legal violation of those artists' identities.

The legal challenge traces back to August, when Isbell joined David Lowery, Guy Forsyth, and Eduardo Calle in federal court. The group alleged that Suno exploits musicians' identities whenever users request tracks that mimic their output. They argued that the service violates state publicity laws, which protect an individual's right to control the commercial use of their name and likeness. The plaintiffs sought to represent a larger class of musicians in the suit.

In its initial response to the case, Suno's legal team drew a direct parallel between AI prompting and traditional studio work. Andrew Gass, an attorney for Suno, wrote that musicians frequently ask human producers to mimic another artist's tone. He stated that when people describe music styles, they often use artists' names as shorthand for the genre they perform in. Gass argued that the complaint in this case relies on the premise that the law condemns that universal practice, a stance he deemed legally unsound.

The filing emphasized that Congress chose not to grant intellectual property protection to artistic style. Gass noted that this decision allows subsequent creators to build on prior works within a genre. He warned that the plaintiffs' theory would create a state law intellectual property regime that conflicts with the federal framework established over two centuries ago. An attorney for the plaintiffs did not respond to a request for comment regarding the motion.

This specific lawsuit distinguishes itself from previous litigation against Suno by focusing on identity rather than copyright. While the company has faced multiple copyright suits and reached settlements with some artists, the Isbell group argues that identity rights persist regardless of settlement deals or opt-in agreements for training data. The plaintiffs claimed Suno retains voiceprints of artists that users can access by bypassing guardrails.

According to the complaint, users can trigger these specific outputs by using prompts that invoke an artist's tone and phrasing rather than their stage name. Examples include using real names for rappers like Common or inserting spaces between letters of names, such as typing t a y l o r s w i f t instead of Taylor Swift. Suno denied these claims in its Tuesday filing, asserting that invoking an artist's name to describe a genre is protected by the First Amendment.

Gass concluded that there is nothing unlawful about this practice. He cited a scenario where a musician in a studio asks a producer for something with more of a Jason Isbell vibe. The filing stated that achieving that result does not infringe on copyright or create confusion over the performer's identity. Suno maintains that what it does in its software is no different from that studio interaction.