On December 22, 2020, the corporate offices of Universal Music Group in Santa Monica, California were captured in photographs. Recently, a lawsuit was filed in Tennessee, claiming that Anthropic and its AI assistant service, Claude, infringed on the copyrights of music publishers. The suit alleges that Claude was trained on the publishers' songs and included their lyrics in its responses. While some websites like Genius or LyricFind republish lyrics with licensing agreements, the publishers accuse Claude of unauthorized use. The suit provides examples of instances where Claude allegedly infringed on copyrighted works, such as displaying the lyrics to Katy Perry's "Roar" (owned by Concord), Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" (a Universal track), and The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (an Abkco track). Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that Claude regurgitated lyrics to songs in response to broader prompts. For example, when asked to write a song about Buddy Holly's death, Claude provided almost all the lyrics to Don McLean's "American Pie. " Similarly, when asked to write a song about moving to Bel Air from Philadelphia, Claude allegedly gave nearly identical lyrics to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. " The suit also mentions instances where Claude provided both the chords and lyrics to songs upon request. Furthermore, when asked to write a short fiction in the style of Louis Armstrong, Claude included significant portions of the lyrics to "What a Wonderful World. " The publishers' attorney, Matthew J.

Oppenheim, asserts that unauthorized use of copyrighted material is illegal and detrimental to songwriters and music publishers. He emphasizes that AI companies, like any technology, must adhere to copyright laws. Anthropic has not yet responded to Rolling Stone's request for comment. This lawsuit represents a notable development amid the music industry's ongoing interest in AI, addressing concerns about protecting artists' works. Universal Music Group, the largest music company globally and UMPG's parent company, has been particularly vocal about the responsible use of AI. In response to instances of AI-generated content featuring UMG artists, the company pushed for streaming services to take action against AI misuse. UMG CEO Lucian Grainge recognizes both the potential of AI to empower talent and its potential for misuse. He emphasized the industry's need to establish tools, incentives, and regulations that allow for AI's positive impact while minimizing harm to creators.