AI music startup Udio has denied Sony Music Leisure’s copyright infringement claims whereas acknowledging that it used audio scraped from YouTube to coach its fashions.
In a submitting with the US District Court docket for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday (April 29), which you’ll be able to learn right here, Udio answered Sony Music’s amended grievance, which additionally names Arista Music and Arista Information as plaintiffs.
Udio admitted that its fashions have been constructed by feeding the system with “an unlimited quantity of various sorts of sound recordings” gathered from publicly out there sources, from which the fashions derived “a fancy assortment of statistical insights in regards to the auditory traits of these recordings.”
The startup additionally acknowledged producing music recordsdata inside seconds of receiving a person immediate, and that it expenses customers month-to-month charges to make use of its product and produce digital recordsdata.
“Udio admits that its product was initially free to customers, with a restrict of 600 music recordsdata per 30 days. Udio additional admits that on Might 8, 2024, Udio launched subscription tiers, with choices that vary from $10 a month for 1,200 credit (which equate to 1,200 30-second clips per 30 days), to $30 a month for 4,800 credit (which equates to 4,800 30-second clips per 30 days),” in accordance with the submitting.
“Udio admits that it obtained audio knowledge from YouTube to be used as coaching knowledge.”
Udio’s reply to amended grievance
On the YouTube ripping allegations, Udio’s response was direct: “Udio admits that it obtained audio knowledge from YouTube to be used as coaching knowledge,” including that “it acquired a few of its coaching knowledge by using YT-DLP.”
Main document labels sued Udio and its rival Suno in June 2024. In August 2024, Udio and Suno just about admitted that they used copyrighted recordings from the recording firms that sued them. Nevertheless, they claimed that the usage of copyrighted supplies – owned by Sony Music Group, Common Music Group and Warner Music Group – falls beneath the “truthful use” exemption to US copyright regulation.
Whereas Common Music and Warner Music Group dropped their lawsuits in opposition to Udio after reaching settlements in October and in November, respectively, the Sony Music lawsuit in opposition to Udio stays.
Earlier than UMG and Warner Music dropped their lawsuits, the labels amended their grievance in September 2025 to incorporate claims that Udio “illegally scraped” YouTube movies with a view to accumulate content material on which to coach its AI fashions.
Udio then filed a movement to dismiss the labels’ cost of unlawful scraping of YouTube movies in October 2025, arguing that US copyright regulation doesn’t truly criminalize downloading of movies which can be out there to the general public.
The YouTube scraping claims are “a gambit to attempt to evade software of the truthful use doctrine,” attorneys for Udio wrote within the movement, which may be learn in full right here.
The document labels then shot again at Udio’s assertion, saying the corporate “mischaracterizes” the labels’ authorized arguments “and the authorized panorama.”
The amended grievance in October (learn right here) alleged in paragraph 122 that Udio violated copyright legal guidelines by circumventing technological measures applied by YouTube that managed entry to copyrighted works. In its response filed final week, Udio stated “The allegations on this paragraph comprise authorized conclusions to which no response is required.”
“To the extent a response is required, Udio lacks data or data enough to confess or deny the allegations of this paragraph regarding Plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings, and on that foundation denies these allegations. Udio admits that it obtained audio knowledge from YouTube to be used as coaching knowledge, however in any other case denies any remaining allegations of this paragraph.”
Udio reaffirmed its “truthful use” argument after the labels together with Sony in October stated “Udio can not keep away from legal responsibility for its willful copyright infringement by claiming truthful use.”
“Udio admits that it obtained audio knowledge from YouTube to be used as coaching knowledge, however in any other case denies any remaining allegations of this paragraph.”
Udio’s reply to amended grievance
In its newest response, Udio stated: “To the extent there may be copying of copyrightable expression, that copying constitutes truthful use pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 107. Udio’s AI software makes use of a back-end technological course of, invisible to the general public, within the service of making an finally non-infringing new product. That is quintessential truthful use.”
Udio accused Sony of copyright misuse, arguing: “Plaintiffs have engaged in anticompetitive actions that stretch an illegal monopoly over the manufacturing and commercialization of music.”
“Plaintiffs have engaged in anticompetitive actions that stretch an illegal monopoly over the manufacturing and commercialization of music.”
Udio’s reply to amended grievance
The AI firm’s response comes weeks after Decide Alvin Ok. Hellerstein rejected its movement to dismiss Sony’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act circumvention declare, discovering Sony had “plausibly allege[d] that YouTube employs technological measures that regulate entry to its content material and that Defendant circumvented them,” in accordance with the April 15 order, which you’ll be able to learn right here.
Nevertheless, Decide Hellerstein stated whether or not YouTube’s measures finally represent entry controls “requires a larger factual document than the pleadings comprise.” The choose left the door open for Udio to resume its arguments “after a factual document is developed.”
Udio is asking the court docket to dismiss all claims with prejudice.
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