Australian Rights Management Organization APRA AMCOS Applauds GEMA’s Victory Against Suno

Following the recent victory of German music rights organization GEMA in its copyright infringement lawsuit against Suno, large-scale Australia/New Zealand rights management organization APRA AMCOS has signaled its support. The organization called what Suno is doing “theft.”

Background:

• The Munich court found that Suno trained its AI system on copyrighted music without a licence or compensation to rightsholders.

• It also ruled that the US “fair-use” policy was an insufficient defense even though Suno is a US-based company.

What they said:

• Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS: "Munich has called it what it is. Not innovation. Theft. The Australian Prime Minister said the same thing at the University of Sydney: 'no company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist's control. Anything less, is theft.' We already know what has been taken. Midnight Oil. Cold Chisel. Sia. Crowded House. Lorde. Our members found their own songs inside these systems, uninvited and unpaid. This is not just a German case. It's a warning to every AI developer, in every territory, including this one. You cannot train on the world's music and argue the world's laws don't apply to you. Suno knows where we are. The path forward is negotiation, built on consent and fair payment. We expect that conversation to start now."

• Dr. Tobias Holzmüller, CEO of GEMA: "All generative AI is based on human creativity; artificial intelligence is nothing without humans. Today, the Chamber made one thing crystal clear: AI models built on stolen intellectual property have no protection under the law. AI service providers must pay for licences rather than helping themselves to our members’ works free of charge."