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Elvis Presley rightsholders sue Suno, alleging its AI imitates the King’s voice. Eight Mile Style has filed a separate suit over 269 Eminem songs.
Elvis Presley’s rightsholders and Eight Mile Style, a co-publisher of Eminem songs, have filed separate lawsuits accusing AI music generator Suno of copyright infringement and unauthorised use of artists’ voices and likenesses. The cases raise questions about how AI music tools use recordings and imitate performers, and what protections artists and rights owners can claim.
The Presley complaint covers 859 compositions and seeks more than $202 million across its claims, including alleged voice and likeness misuse; Eight Mile Style’s case concerns 269 compositions and seeks just over $47.7 million. Presley’s rightsholders say Suno trained on his recordings and produced songs in a recognisable voice, citing at least 38 outputs, while Suno has said its system does not replicate specific artists’ voices. The suits were filed on 6 November in a California federal court.
In short
- Presley’s rightsholders are seeking more than $202 million from Suno.
- Eight Mile Style’s separate case covers 269 Eminem compositions.
- The lawsuits dispute whether Suno imitates artists and uses protected works.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Artists and rights owners can argue that training on protected recordings and generating recognisable imitations uses the value of their work and identities without permission. Clear protections could help performers control commercial uses of their voices and ensure that AI companies obtain licences or compensate creators whose work contributes to their systems.
The case against
Suno and other AI developers can argue that learning from recordings to generate new music is a form of technological innovation, and that broad restrictions could limit legitimate creative tools and new forms of expression. They may also contend that their systems do not reproduce specific artists’ voices, so liability should depend on evidence that particular outputs copy protected material or unlawfully exploit an identity.
Explained simply
AI music generators learn patterns from recordings and use them to create new music from written prompts. This has raised disputes over whether training on copyrighted songs requires permission and whether generated music can improperly imitate a performer’s voice or likeness.
Elvis Presley’s music and image are managed by rights holders, while Eight Mile Style co-publishes songs recorded by Eminem. They say Suno used protected material without authorisation; Suno has said its system does not replicate specific artists’ voices.
The cases could help clarify how copyright and protections for a person’s voice and likeness apply to AI-generated music. Their outcome may affect music companies, performers and the developers of similar tools.
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