Music publisher Reservoir sues Anthropic and Suno over songs by Madonna, Johnny Cash and Joni Mitchell

Independent music publisher Reservoir Media filed two separate federal copyright lawsuits against Anthropic and Suno on October 21. According to Billboard, which first reported the cases, Reservoir alleges that both companies used its copyrighted songs without permission to build AI that can produce new ones. The complaints cite Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach,” along with tracks by Glenn Miller, Kings of Leon and Evanescence. Both were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Per Music Ally, the Anthropic suit focuses on the lyrics of 853 compositions Reservoir believes were used to train Claude models, and on Claude generating copies and derivative versions of those lyrics in its outputs. Digital Music News reports that Reservoir seeks the statutory maximum of $150,000 per work, or $127.95 million, plus $23.5 million over alleged circumvention of access controls and removal of copyright management information. The Suno suit covers 1,050 works and seeks about $186 million in total.

“We disagree with the allegations and intend to defend this case vigorously,” an Anthropic spokesperson told Billboard. A representative for Suno declined to comment. None of the claims has been tested in court. Two days later, on October 23, the companies that hold Elvis Presley’s song rights sued Anthropic over 274 songs. Round Hill Music sued both companies in August, and Suno is still in litigation with Universal Music Group and Sony Music.