Suno Says Jason Isbell Lawsuit Over Artist ‘Identities’ Must Be Dismissed: ‘Nothing Unlawful About That’

Suno has asked a judge to dismiss Jason Isbell’s lawsuit, arguing that using an artist’s name as shorthand for a musical style is lawful and protected speech. The case matters because it tests whether an AI music platform can be held liable under laws protecting artists’ identities, a different issue from claims that AI firms used copyrighted recordings to train models.

Isbell and other artists filed the case in August, alleging Suno’s system can generate music evocative of named musicians and was built using their identities without consent. Suno says it converts artist-name prompts into musical descriptors, such as translating “Duran Duran” into “new wave” or “synth-pop”; Isbell’s complaint says users can bypass safeguards by spacing out names. The class action invokes likeness laws in New York, California, Tennessee and elsewhere, and Suno also argues the claims are pre-empted by federal law.