The owners of Elvis Presley’s music rights and Eminem’s publisher have launched separate legal actions against AI music generator Suno, accusing the platform of using artists’ work and identities without permission, states Variety.
The Presley lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, names a group that includes Authentic Brands Group and Raleigh Music Publishing. The plaintiffs allege that Suno violates copyright laws and Tennessee’s 2024 Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act by allowing users to generate songs that imitate Presley’s voice when they enter his name in prompts.
The 51-page complaint argues that the platform exploits the singer’s identity and reproduces the distinctive qualities of his voice without authorisation.
In a separate case, Eight Mile Style, the company that controls hundreds of Eminem’s compositions, accused Suno of copyright infringement. The publisher claims the platform allows users to generate music and lyrics that imitate the rapper’s catalogue, including songs such as ‘Lose Yourself’, ‘Without Me’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’. Eminem is not personally involved in the lawsuit, and his representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legal team representing both groups argued that Suno has built its business by using artists’ identities, creativity and years of work to generate commercial content. The complaints also cite examples of AI-generated tracks that allegedly resemble Presley’s voice or reproduce elements of Eminem’s music.
In the Presley case, the lawyers warned that AI could undermine the incentive for future musicians to develop their craft. They argued that technology could reproduce in seconds what artists spend years learning and refining.
The Presley lawsuit follows a similar legal challenge led by Americana singer Jason Isbell and other musicians, who accuse Suno of allowing users to exploit artists’ identities. Suno has denied those allegations.
Responding to the latest claims, a Suno spokesperson said the platform exists to help people create original music rather than exploit anyone’s name or likeness. The company said it prohibits unauthorised use of artists’ work, blocks prompts that name specific artists or songs, and uses third-party services to screen uploaded audio and lyrics. It added that it continues to strengthen safeguards for artists and users.
The new cases also follow separate lawsuits involving the parties and other AI companies. Authentic Brands Group and other Presley rights holders sued Anthropic last month, alleging that its Claude chatbot had been trained on 274 of Presley’s songs. They sought $48.6 million in damages. Anthropic has denied the allegations.
Eight Mile Style also filed a lawsuit against Meta in June, seeking around $110 million over the alleged unauthorised use of 243 Eminem recordings across Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. A federal judge in Michigan allowed that case to proceed to the discovery stage.
Suno already faces legal challenges from independent publisher Round Hill Music and major record companies Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Warner Music Group settled its lawsuit against the platform last year.
Suno later reached agreements with Warner Music Group and publishers BMG and Believe, helping it launch its label-backed v6 model in September. Universal and Sony have since filed another lawsuit, arguing that the new model still relies on material linked to their earlier copyright claims.
Despite the legal disputes, Suno continues to attract major investment. The company raised $400 million in June at a reported valuation of $5.4 billion.
