MBW Views is a series of op-eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say.
The following open letter comes from Ed Newton-Rex.
An open letter to Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.
To the good people at the three major record labels,
I implore you: do not settle.
This week, Bloomberg broke the news that you are considering settling the lawsuits you brought against Suno and Udio for alleged copyright infringement “on an almost unimaginable scale”. It’s said you are in licensing talks, and discussing taking a stake in their companies.
You might not be planning to settle. Settlement discussions are par for the course in litigation – they don’t mean a settlement will happen. But, if you are considering it, I’m sure I’m not alone in urging you not to do so. Settling would harm not just you and your artists; it would harm the entire music industry.
Settling would mean these companies’ gamble – training on the world’s music without permission or payment – had paid off. It would be a gift to every AI company CEO who has decided not to bother paying to use people’s life’s work; to every engineer who has built web scrapers without thinking about the people they’re taking from; to every investor who has turned down the companies doing things right, and laughed off the minor roadblock of copyright. There would be pats on the back, champagne all round, at their next investor meetings.
But more important than the people it would benefit are the people it would harm. Imagine you ran an AI music startup that had tried to do right by creators and rights holders at every turn, passed over for investment because venture capitalists projected lower multiples if you insisted on paying for your key resources. How would you feel hearing the news of a potential settlement?
I can tell you, because so many of them have got in touch with me over the last few days. To put it bluntly: incredibly pissed off.
And what message would settling send the tech companies of the future, who will arrive riding the wave of the next great technological breakthrough? The message is clear: ‘Ignore what we say about licensing, make us take you to court – that’s how to get a deal. That’s how you win.’
Early last year, at least one of your companies said you’d only strike deals with startups that approached you in advance of training. The message being, don’t come begging once you’ve already exploited our artists’ work. This was, in my book, a good commitment, and not one that should be broken lightly.
The law is on your side. This has been obvious from the start. You won’t have missed the US Copyright Office, in their long-awaited report on generative AI training that people saw for the first time a few weeks ago, specifically calling out training audio models on sound recordings as being less likely to be considered fair use. Suno & Udio won’t have missed this either.
Much to the consternation of my younger self, I am not signed to a major label. If I were, I would be writing to you right now as an artist, saying: Please don’t enter into agreements with companies that have already exploited my music for commercial gain without permission. This is not who we should be dealing with.
If you suspect someone of stealing all the cars in your neighbourhood, and you alone have the resources to prosecute him, do you instead do a private deal to sell him just yours? And, while you’re at it, ask him to cut you in on the action?
For better or worse, these lawsuits aren’t just about you. They are about the entire music industry – which, intentionally or not, it’s fallen on you to defend.
I for one have faith that you will defend it.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Newton-RexMusic Business Worldwide
