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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has strongly endorsed Disney & NBCUniversal’s lawsuit against AI company Midjourney.
RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier issued a statement that underscores the broader implications for creative industries. “There is a clear path forward through partnerships that both further AI innovation and foster human artistry,” Glazier said. “Unfortunately, some bad actors—like Midjourney—see only a zero-sum, winner-take-all game. These short-sighted AI companies are stealing human-created works to generate machine-created, virtually identical products for their own commercial gain.”
“That is not only a violation of black-letter copyright law but also manifestly unfair. This action by Disney and Universal represents a critical stand for human creativity and responsible innovation,” Glazier concludes. Indeed, the 110-page complaint against Midjourney details dozens of alleged instances of infringement and claims that Midjourney earned more than $300M in revenue in 2024—partially through willful copyright infringement.
The music industry is no stranger to such battles with AI companies. The RIAA, along with major record labels, have already taken action against AI music generators Suno and Udio for allegedly using copyrighted recordings to train their systems. While the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has not addressed the Midjourney lawsuit, it did issue a statement in support of the lawsuits versus Suno and Udio.
“NMPA is completely supportive of this lawsuit against Suno and Udio. Both platforms clearly trained on copyrighted recordings—it is apparent to anyone listening to what they generate. This case is precedent-setting and integral to artists’ rights as human creators.”
The Midjourney lawsuit is a clear signal that the entertainment industry as a whole is drawing a hardline on AI’s use of copyrighted material. As AI technology continues to evolve, the outcome of these legal battles will shape the future of creativity, copyright, and the relationship between human artistry and machine innovation.
Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment are all in advanced talks to license their content to AI music startups Suno and Udio. This marks a notable evolution to the industry’s approach to generative AI—where content is licensed and paid for rather than ripped and stolen.
These discussions could lead to comprehensive licensing frameworks that allow companies to continue to use major label catalogs for AI model training, provided labels and artists are justly compensated. The proposed deals include not only license fees and royalties for past and future use, but also the potential for labels to acquire small equity stakes in both startups—mirroring a strategy used in agreements with streaming platforms like Spotify.
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