Suno lawsuits: Elvis and Eminem join the list of cases against AI music

Suno, the platform that generates songs with artificial intelligence from text prompts, faces two new lawsuits in a California federal court: one from Elvis Presley Enterprises and other holders of the singer's rights, over 859 works, and another from Eight Mile Style, Eminem's publisher, over 269 compositions, according to Digital Music News. Presley's rights holders seek "north of US$152 million" in maximum statutory damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) alone, and Eight Mile Style's claim could exceed US$40 million.

Both lawsuits, filed last week, add to a list that already included the Universal and Sony labels, Germany's GEMA authors' society, which won at first instance in Munich, and several independent publishers. This article sums up what the Elvis and Eminem camps allege, how many lawsuits Suno faces and where each one stands.

What the Elvis Presley lawsuit against Suno alleges

The lawsuit was filed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Raleigh Music Publishing and a subsidiary of Authentic Brands Group, the company that manages the Presley brand. It accuses Suno of violating Tennessee's ELVIS Act, passed in 2024 to protect artists' voices and likenesses from AI, and the state's right of publicity. It also alleges direct copyright infringement, for ripping music from streaming platforms and using it to train its models, and circumventing technical protections and removing copyright management information, two acts the DMCA punishes.

According to Digital Music News, the complaint includes examples of songs generated with Presley's voice or lyrics and argues that they "are NOT examples of Elvis Presley singing" but "synthetic and unlicensed uses" of his voice. The plaintiffs cite the licensing deals Suno signed with Warner Music Group and distributor Believe as proof that a market for licensing training music exists. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Richard Busch, also represents Gerencia 360, Round Hill Music and Reservoir Media in other suits against the company.

Eminem's lawsuit against Suno

Eight Mile Style, the publisher that manages part of Eminem's catalog, filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of California. It says Suno trained its models on 269 of its compositions without permission or payment, and asks the court to find the infringement willful and order unauthorized copies destroyed, according to Digital Music News. Among its examples, the complaint says the platform generated "Lose Yourself" with its lyrics. Eminem is not a party to the case.

The figure of more than US$40 million matches the maximum that US copyright law allows for willful infringement, US$150,000 per work, multiplied by 269 works. Suno replied that it does not allow prompts with the names of specific artists or songs and works with third-party providers to screen uploaded audio and lyrics.

Every lawsuit against Suno: where each one stands

Suno, founded in 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, received its first major lawsuit in June 2024, when Universal, Sony and Warner, coordinated by the RIAA, accused it of training its model on protected recordings. Since then, the legal front has widened:

In the main case, in Massachusetts, the court allowed the labels in August 2026 to add a DMCA anti-circumvention claim but denied their request to add another 61,026 recordings, according to AI Lawsuit Tracker. That is why Universal and Sony filed a second suit in September over about 60,202 recordings, arguing that even Suno's new v6 model, launched under a Warner license, carries over what earlier models learned. In Germany, the Munich Regional Court rejected Suno's fair-use argument and ruled for GEMA, although the ruling is not final.

What is at stake in the Suno lawsuits

The underlying question is whether training an AI model on protected music is "fair use" in the United States or requires a license. Warner's deal with Suno, and Universal's and Warner's deals with Udio, another platform that was sued, point to a paid licensing model; the cases still open will determine what that permission is worth and what happens to what was already trained without it. The Elvis lawsuit also opens another front: imitation of an artist's voice, which laws such as Tennessee's ELVIS Act treat as a right separate from copyright.

For more on AI-made music, see how YouTube Music will label songs made with artificial intelligence.

Frequently asked questions

For training its models on protected music without a license and, in the Elvis case, for imitating the singer's voice and likeness, according to the complaints.

Elvis's rights holders, more than US$152 million under the DMCA alone; Eight Mile Style, an amount that could exceed US$40 million.

At first instance, yes: the Munich Regional Court ruled for GEMA on July 31, 2026. The ruling is not final.

A 2024 Tennessee law that protects artists' voices and likenesses from imitation with artificial intelligence.