{"id":567302,"date":"2026-05-05T11:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567302\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:31:11","slug":"udio-admits-to-scraping-youtube-audio-for-ai-training-in-answer-to-sony-music-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567302\/","title":{"rendered":"Udio admits to scraping YouTube audio for AI training in answer to Sony Music lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI music startup Udio has denied Sony Music Entertainment<\/a>\u2019s copyright infringement claims while acknowledging that it used audio scraped from YouTube<\/a> to train its models.<\/p>\n

In a filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday (April 29), which you can read here<\/a>, Udio answered Sony<\/a> Music\u2019s amended complaint, which also names Arista Music and Arista Records as plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

Udio admitted that its models were built by feeding the system with \u201ca vast amount of different kinds of sound recordings\u201d gathered from publicly available sources, from which the models derived \u201ca complex collection of statistical insights about the auditory characteristics of those recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The startup also acknowledged generating music files within seconds of receiving a user prompt, and that it charges users monthly fees to use its product and produce digital files.<\/p>\n

\u201cUdio admits that its product was originally free to users, with a limit of 600 music files per month. Udio further admits that on May 8, 2024, Udio introduced subscription tiers, with options that range from $10 a month for 1,200 credits (which equate to 1,200 30-second clips per month), to $30 a month for 4,800 credits (which equates to 4,800 30-second clips per month),\u201d according to the filing.<\/p>\n

\u201cUdio admits that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio\u2019s answer to amended complaint<\/p>\n

On the YouTube ripping allegations, Udio\u2019s response was direct: \u201cUdio admits that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data,\u201d adding that \u201cit acquired some of its training data by utilizing YT-DLP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major record labels sued<\/a> Udio and its rival Suno in June 2024. In August 2024, Udio and Suno pretty much admitted that they used copyrighted recordings from the recording companies that sued them. However, they claimed that the use of copyrighted materials \u2013 owned by Sony Music Group<\/a>, Universal Music Group<\/a> and Warner Music Group<\/a> \u2013 falls under the \u201cfair use\u201d exemption to US copyright law.<\/p>\n

While Universal Music and Warner Music Group dropped their lawsuits against Udio after reaching settlements\u00a0in October<\/a> and in November<\/a>, respectively, the Sony Music lawsuit against Udio remains.<\/p>\n

Before UMG and Warner Music dropped their lawsuits, the labels amended<\/a> their complaint in September 2025 to include claims that Udio \u201cillegally scraped\u201d YouTube videos<\/a>\u00a0in order to collect content on which to train its AI models.<\/p>\n

Udio then filed a motion to dismiss <\/a>the labels\u2019 charge of illegal scraping of YouTube videos in October 2025, arguing that US copyright law doesn\u2019t actually criminalize downloading of videos that are available to the public.<\/p>\n

The YouTube scraping claims are \u201ca gambit to try to evade application of the fair use doctrine,\u201d lawyers for Udio wrote in the motion, which can be read in full\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The record labels then shot back at Udio\u2019s statement, saying the company \u201cmischaracterizes\u201d the labels\u2019 legal arguments \u201cand the legal landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The amended complaint in October (read here<\/a>) alleged in paragraph 122 that Udio violated copyright laws by circumventing technological measures implemented by YouTube that controlled access to copyrighted works. In its response filed last week, Udio said \u201cThe allegations in this paragraph contain legal conclusions to which no response is required.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the extent a response is required, Udio lacks knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the allegations of this paragraph concerning Plaintiffs\u2019 copyrighted sound recordings, and on that basis denies those allegations. Udio admits that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data, but otherwise denies any remaining allegations of this paragraph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio reaffirmed its \u201cfair use\u201d argument after the labels including Sony in October said \u201cUdio cannot avoid liability for its willful copyright infringement by claiming fair use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUdio admits that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data, but otherwise denies any remaining allegations of this paragraph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio\u2019s answer to amended complaint<\/p>\n

In its latest response, Udio said: \u201cTo the extent there is copying of copyrightable expression, that copying constitutes fair use pursuant to 17 U.S.C. \u00a7 107. Udio\u2019s AI tool uses a back-end technological process, invisible to the public, in the service of creating an ultimately non-infringing new product. This is quintessential fair use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio accused Sony of copyright misuse, arguing: \u201cPlaintiffs have engaged in anticompetitive activities that extend an unlawful monopoly over the production and commercialization of music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaintiffs have engaged in anticompetitive activities that extend an unlawful monopoly over the production and commercialization of music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio\u2019s answer to amended complaint<\/p>\n

The AI company\u2019s response comes weeks after Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected its motion to dismiss Sony\u2019s Digital Millennium Copyright Act circumvention claim, finding Sony had \u201cplausibly allege[d] that YouTube employs technological measures that regulate access to its content and that Defendant circumvented them,\u201d according to the April 15 order, which you can read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, Judge Hellerstein said whether YouTube\u2019s measures ultimately constitute access controls \u201crequires a greater factual record than the pleadings contain.\u201d The judge left the door open for Udio to renew its arguments \u201cafter a factual record is developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udio is asking the court to dismiss all claims with prejudice.<\/p>\n

Music Business Worldwide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AI music startup Udio has denied Sony Music Entertainment\u2019s copyright infringement claims while acknowledging that it used audio…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-567302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}