Elvis and Eminem rights holders sue AI music company Suno

Rights holders representing Elvis Presley’s catalog and the publisher of several of Eminem’s biggest records have filed separate lawsuits against Suno, the AI music generation company, according to The Verge. Both suits allege that Suno’s tools illegally produce music and lyrics mimicking the two artists.

The Presley plaintiffs’ lawyers argue Suno has violated Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, known as the ELVIS Act, a state law that makes it illegal for an AI company to clone a singer’s voice without authorization. The Verge reports the suit centers on Suno’s capacity to generate outputs that replicate distinctive vocal qualities associated with Presley’s recordings.

The Eminem-related suit, brought by the publisher of some of his best-known songs, makes a parallel claim regarding Suno’s handling of lyrics and musical style tied to those records.

The Verge frames the filings as the latest in a series of legal actions against Suno, adding to scrutiny the company has faced over how its AI model generates music and whether its training or outputs draw improperly on copyrighted or protected material from working artists and their estates.

The outcome of these cases could help determine how far AI music generators may go in producing content that resembles specific real-world performers, and what legal protections, including state-level likeness statutes like the ELVIS Act, apply to voice cloning by generative AI systems going forward.