Round Hill Music Files Lawsuits Against Anthropic and Suno

Independent music publisher Round Hill Music has taken a significant legal step by filing copyright lawsuits against Anthropic and Suno in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuits stem from allegations that both companies have utilized Round Hill's music catalog to train their AI systems without obtaining the necessary permissions or providing compensation. The suit against Anthropic specifically addresses the use of lyrics, claiming that their AI model, Claude, has been trained on over 500 songs owned by Round Hill, including iconic tracks such as James Brown's 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' and the Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris.' Meanwhile, the lawsuit against Suno focuses on master recordings from the same catalog, emphasizing significant works like Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and Dio's 'Holy Diver.'

Round Hill Music has indicated that it may expand both lawsuits to encompass more than 10,000 compositions, thus raising the stakes with potential damages reported to exceed $1 billion under statutory copyright penalties. Josh Gruss, the CEO of Round Hill, has emphasized the principle behind these lawsuits, asserting that the legal action is not an opposition to innovation but rather a defense of the creators' rights. Richard Busch, the publisher's attorney, well-known for his pivotal role in the 'Blurred Lines' case, reiterated that these companies have built substantial profits by capitalizing on copyrighted material while the original artists have not received their fair share of that value.

These legal actions add Round Hill to an increasing list of rights holders challenging generative AI firms in court. Notably, Suno is already embroiled in legal disputes with all three major record labels, having reached a settlement and licensing deal with Warner Music in November 2025. However, it still faces ongoing litigation from Universal Music Group and Sony Music, while an independent artist lawsuit led by the law firm Hagens Berman aims to address similar issues regarding the training of models on copyrighted recordings.

With the possibility of statutory damages of up to $150,000 per willfully infringed work, Round Hill's declaration of intent to proceed to trial rather than settle emphasizes the growing legal scrutiny on how generative music models are created. This case could serve as a reminder of the ongoing need for rigorous copyright protection in an era that is rapidly evolving with technological advancements, highlighting the delicate balance between innovation in music and the rights of creators.