Eminem publisher seeks more than $41m from Suno over AI training claims

Eight Mile Style, the Ferndale company that controls 269 Eminem compositions, filed a federal copyright lawsuit against the AI music generator Suno on Nov. 6 in San Francisco. The complaint alleges that Suno copied the works without permission to train its model, then operated a paid service that lets users generate songs from text prompts.

The company is seeking more than $41 million. Its claim includes $150,000 for each of 269 compositions, or $40.4 million, plus $672,000 for the alleged removal of digital copyright information.

CBS News Detroit reported that the suit accuses Suno of direct copyright infringement, circumvention of protection measures and removing or altering copyright-management information. Eight Mile Style also wants a finding of willful infringement and an order requiring the impoundment or destruction of unauthorized copies in Suno’s possession.

The works at issue include “Lose Yourself” and “Stan.” The complaint cites a Suno-generated track titled “Lose Yourself by Eminem,” which it says copied lyrics verbatim. It also identifies “Slim shady x Rosefalls,” alleging that its vocals were clearly derived from Eminem’s actual voice. Eminem himself is not individually participating in the case, according to Variety.

Eight Mile Style alleges that Suno made illicit copies of millions of copyrighted musical works without compensating rights holders. It further says the company used a service to scrape songs and lyrics from YouTube Music, Deezer and Genius. Separately, 404 Media reported in July that data it reviewed contained source code and dataset records indicating that Suno had scraped millions of songs and lyrics from several online services, including those three platforms. One file recorded the ingestion of more than 2 million music clips from YouTube Music.

Suno has said its generator is designed to help people make new, original music rather than trade on an artist’s name or likeness. The company said it does not permit prompts for specific artists or songs, uses third-party providers to screen uploaded audio and lyrics, and is adding safeguards for artists and users.

The case joins a wider set of disputes over Suno’s training practices. The Recording Industry Association of America brought copyright cases against Suno and Udio in June 2024, while Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment filed a separate suit over Suno’s v6 model in September. Suno has settled with Warner Music Group and reached licensing arrangements with BMG and Believe, though the terms, including artist compensation and participation, have not been disclosed.