Elvis and Eminem rights holders sue Suno over AI training

By Tom Whitfield

Eight Mile Style filed a copyright complaint seeking about $41 million from AI music generator Suno over 269 Eminem compositions on Nov. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The demand combines the $150,000 statutory maximum for each work with $672,000 tied to alleged removal of copyright management information.

What do the two lawsuits allege?

Rights holders for Elvis Presley and Eight Mile Style filed two separate lawsuits in that court on Nov. 6. Both complaints accuse Suno of training its models on the songs without permission and letting users generate music that imitates the artists.

The Presley plaintiffs include Authentic Brands Group and Raleigh Music Publishing. Their 51-page complaint alleges that Suno copied 859 Presley compositions to train its system.

The same legal team represents both groups and includes Richard Busch, who represented the Marvin Gaye estate in the "Blurred Lines" case. The lawsuits therefore put both training inputs and artist imitation at issue, rather than treating them as separate commercial claims.

How does the Presley case use Tennessee's AI law?

The Presley complaint invokes Tennessee's 2024 ELVIS Act, which protects artists' voices and likenesses against unauthorized use, including AI clones. The complaint uses that law to address alleged imitation of Presley's voice and likeness.

The complaint says typing "Elvis Presley" into Suno's Create function can produce music built on his likeness. It also alleges that, as recently as October, lyrics containing his name were enough to produce an Elvis-like vocal, despite Suno's statements that it blocks artist names.

"The next Elvis won't pick up a guitar," the plaintiffs' lawyers wrote. The filing thus links alleged unauthorized copying with Tennessee's protection against AI replicas of a performer's identity.

What does the Eminem claim target?

Eight Mile Style controls rights to the 269 Eminem compositions in its separate complaint. The case names "Lose Yourself" and "The Real Slim Shady," while making clear that Eminem is not a plaintiff.

The roughly $41 million demand combines the statutory maximum for all 269 works with the additional $672,000 claim over removed copyright information. The legal theory therefore focuses on unauthorized copying and removal of copyright information rather than on Eminem's direct participation in the filing.

What has Suno said about its controls?

Suno told Billboard it "exists to help people create new, original music" and is "always working to strengthen our guardrails." The company says it does not allow prompts naming specific artists or songs and uses third-party systems to screen uploaded audio and lyrics.

Those safeguards directly address the plaintiffs' allegations about artist names, but they have not yet been tested against the claimed outputs in court.

How are label settlements changing the competition?

Major record labels filed claims in 2024 against Suno and rival Udio. Universal Music Group settled with Udio in October 2025, and Warner Music Group settled the following month.

Warner dropped its case against Suno in November 2025 in exchange for a licensing deal. Under the announced agreement, Suno is to launch licensed models in 2026 and retire its current ones; the deal also included Suno's purchase of Warner's Songkick concert service.

The 2026 model launch is a planned milestone, while Universal Music Group and Sony Music continue to pursue claims against Suno. Suno raised $250 million at a $2.45 billion valuation in November 2025, providing the financing behind its expansion into licensing.

The settlements have narrowed the conflict for some rights holders without resolving the broader dispute over training and artist imitation.

Where do related disputes stand?

Elvis Presley Enterprises has also sued Anthropic over training on Presley songs, while Eight Mile Style has sued Meta. The training dispute therefore extends beyond Suno to other companies named in the same catalog conflicts.

What remains untested?

No court has tested either complaint, leaving the allegations about training, imitation and copyright information unresolved. For Suno, the next competitive test comes in 2026, when the company plans to launch licensed models and retire its current ones while Universal and Sony continue pressing their claims.