Universal and Sony cleared to depose ex-Menlo Ventures exec over deleted post: ‘I’ve personally shifted most of my listening to Suno’

UMG and Sony have won permission to question former Menlo Ventures executive C.C. Gong about a deleted post saying she had shifted most of her listening from Spotify to Suno. The labels argue her account may help establish whether Suno’s AI-generated music substitutes for copyrighted recordings, a point relevant to Suno’s fair use defence.

Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson authorised the companies to subpoena and depose Gong within 30 days. They say they sought testimony from Menlo first, but learned on 12 October that Gong had left the firm at the end of September, after the 30 September fact-discovery deadline. Suno did not oppose the request, while maintaining that discovery deadlines should apply equally to all parties.