Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and DistroKid have told a federal court that they “are working on a resolution” in their dispute over DistroKid’s AI music data.
The update came in a joint filing approved by US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan on Wednesday (October 28).
The filing, signed by lawyers for both sides on October 27, can be read in full here.
The two majors are seeking data from DistroKid on how many of the tracks it delivers to streaming services are flagged as AI-generated – and how many of those are attributed to Suno.
They want to use the information as evidence in their original 2024 copyright lawsuit against Suno, which is pending in federal court in Massachusetts.
According to the filing, “the Parties are working on a resolution” and have agreed to give DistroKid until November 6 to respond to the labels’ request for a court order.
The filing does not say what a resolution would involve, or whether DistroKid would hand over any of the data the labels are seeking.
UMG and Sony asked the court in Manhattan on October 14 to enforce a subpoena against DistroKid.
A subpoena is a legally binding demand for evidence, and the labels served this one on DistroKid in September.
In their motion, the labels said DistroKid “refuses to produce a single document” sought by the subpoena.
They also called DistroKid “one of the primary conduits by which the streaming market is being flooded with AI-generated recordings.”
DistroKid says it distributes 30–40% of “all new music in the world.”
UMG and Sony described the data as “highly relevant information that only DistroKid possesses,” and said their requests are “proportional to a case in which the market effect of AI-generated music is a central contested question.”
Their proposed court order would require DistroKid to produce monthly figures dating back to when it began using a third-party “prediction model” to test tracks for AI generation.
Those figures would show how many recordings DistroKid delivered to streaming services, how many it tested, and how many the model scored as “likely AI-generated, whether in whole or in part.”
The labels also want “the total streams and royalties” generated by those flagged recordings and, where the model identifies Suno as the actual or likely source, the number of recordings attributed to it.
A further request seeks “the name and vendor of the prediction model,” along with the basis for statements about false positives that DistroKid made in an October 9 response to the subpoena.
The court has yet to rule on the labels’ proposed order, which asked it to require DistroKid to hand over the documents by October 30.
Suno argues in the Massachusetts case that training its AI models on copyrighted recordings is fair use.
In weighing that defense, a court considers whether the use harms the market for the original works.
UMG and Sony argue that DistroKid’s data would show how much AI-generated music is reaching that market.
If the parties don’t reach a resolution and the court sides with the labels, DistroKid would have to give them figures on how many AI-flagged tracks it has sent to streaming services and what those tracks earned.
In the labels’ account, DistroKid has argued that its AI data has little bearing on whether Suno acted unlawfully when it built its models.
In a statement to Billboard on October 16, DistroKid said it is a third party in the litigation and is “committed to transparency and will continue to cooperate with the legal process.”
On October 14, the labels also asked a court in San Francisco to order Suno investors Bond Capital and Menlo Ventures to comply with subpoenas.
On Monday (October 26), a federal court in Massachusetts cleared the two majors to question C.C. Gong, a former Principal at Menlo Ventures, under oath over a since-deleted social media post.
“I’ve personally shifted most of my listening to Suno,” Gong wrote in the post. “I was so tired of Spotify giving me the same overplayed recommendations.”
UMG and Sony first sued Suno in June 2024, alongside Warner Music Group, which settled with Suno in November 2025.
The two remaining majors filed a second suit against Suno on September 18, accusing it of copying 60,202 of their recordings without a license.
With damages set by law at up to USD $150,000 for each recording found to be willfully infringed, that second suit alone carries theoretical exposure of just over $9 billion, by MBW‘s calculation.
Separately, UMG sued DistroKid in Delaware federal court on September 15, alleging copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices.
UMG’s complaint alleges that “DistroKid is flooding platforms with AI-generated ‘slop’ that siphons revenue and listeners from the legitimate artists and rightsholders.”
A footnote in the UMG filing states: “This lawsuit is not about the distribution of AI-generated music when clearly disclosed as such.”
UMG’s exhibits list 1,000 recordings that it says were copied by tracks DistroKid delivered to streaming services. The complaint adds that UMG’s investigation has so far identified nearly 2,000 infringing DistroKid-distributed recordings.
At up to $150,000 each, the 1,000 listed recordings imply a theoretical ceiling of $150 million, though the complaint does not specify a total damages figure.
Sony is not a party to the Delaware case.
DistroKid has until December 4 to respond to UMG’s complaint.
Earlier this month, DistroKid confirmed it had removed some tracks in response to UMG’s claims.
“A very small number of recordings distributed through DistroKid have been removed in response to claims made by UMG,” Amanda Ferri, DistroKid’s VP of Artist Services, told The Verge. “We strongly dispute the allegations underlying UMG’s lawsuit and regret the disruption to affected artists.
“We are working to minimize that disruption while protecting artists’ ability to release their music.”
In July, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in DistroKid.
MBW revealed this week that Create Music Group has also acquired a minority stake in the company.Music Business Worldwide
