Jason Isbell Takes AI Music Company to Court in Major Fight to Protect Country Artists [Report]

Jason Isbell is taking his fight against artificial intelligence to court.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has filed a lawsuit against AI music company Suno, accusing the platform of misappropriating and commercially exploiting his identity and those of other musicians.

The complaint, filed Monday in federal court in Massachusetts alongside musicians Guy Forsyth, David Lowery and Eduardo Calle, seeks class-action status and argues that Suno's technology can generate music that imitates specific artists.

Jason Isbell Takes Aim at Suno

The lawsuit opens with a warning from Star Trek that feels particularly fitting for the fight over AI and music.

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"The Borg's chilling catchphrase captures it plainly: 'We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile,'" the complaint states, per The New York Times.

Isbell and the other plaintiffs accuse Suno of designing its platform so that an artist's name can act as a "retrieval key," allowing users to "deploy the identity of musicians by name" when generating music.

As an example, the complaint says entering Isbell's name into Suno generated an Americana song called "Paper Bell" that imitated "Isbell's characteristic clear male vocals and country twang."

The complaint also includes examples involving artists from other genres, arguing that the platform can generate music designed to replicate a particular artist's style.

Lawsuit Challenges Suno's Artist Restrictions

Suno has said it blocks users from using artists' names as prompts to generate music. Isbell's lawsuit disputes that claim, citing examples in which the platform allegedly generated music resembling particular artists.

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The complaint claims Suno's restrictions can also be bypassed by altering an artist's name, such as adding spaces between the letters. It also points to tutorials from affiliate creators that allegedly teach users how to get around the restrictions.

When an artist's name is blocked, the lawsuit says Suno sometimes offers users "similar styles" instead. The plaintiffs argue that this shows the platform recognizes the artist and their style.

What Jason Isbell Wants From Suno

The lawsuit accuses Suno of monetizing artists' rights of publicity and commercially exploiting their identities, including their names and voices, to build its platform.

Isbell and the other plaintiffs are asking the court to grant the case class-action status, potentially allowing thousands of musicians in states that recognize rights protecting a person's identity to join the case.

They're also seeking an injunction that would prohibit Suno from capturing and storing artists' identities, including their names, voices and other identifying attributes.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as disgorgement of profits.

Suno has not yet responded to the lawsuit. A recent study found that AI music creators are generating significant revenue, with many using Suno to create their music.