Google Faces Copyright Lawsuit Over AI Music Model Lyria 3
Independent artists sue Google, alleging copyright infringement for training its Lyria 3 AI model on unlicensed music from YouTube.
A group of independent artists, songwriters, and producers has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of training its Lyria 3 artificial intelligence model on unlicensed music sourced from YouTube.
The complaint, filed on Friday (March 6) and reviewed by Billboard, follows similar copyright cases against AI song generators Suno and Udio. This marks the first lawsuit targeting Google, which launched Lyria 3 through the Gemini app last month, enabling users to generate AI songs based on text and image prompts.
Google's entry into the AI music market is unique due to its ownership of YouTube, a platform with millions of songs uploaded by artists and labels. The lawsuit alleges that Google leveraged this position "to pivot from distributor to competitor," extracting audio elements from YouTube videos and using them to train Lyria without compensating artists.
The lawsuit states that Google had the opportunity to develop Lyria 3 legally, citing its ownership of YouTube, its Content ID system, and its relationships with major labels and distributors. The plaintiffs argue that Google chose to copy music without licensing because it was faster and cheaper.
Reps for Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, last month, the company stated that Lyria 3 is mindful of copyright concerns and only trains on music that YouTube and Google have the right to use under their terms of service, partner agreements, and applicable law.
The lawsuit was filed by singer/songwriter Sam Kogon, composer/producer Magnus Fiennes, songwriter/producer Michael Mell, R&B group Attack the Sound, folk rock duo Stan Burjek and James Burjek, and the Chicago-based band Directrix.
These artists allege that their work on YouTube was likely included in the Lyria 3 training dataset. They are pursuing copyright infringement claims against Google for publishing and recorded music rights, as well as intellectual property, privacy, and consumer protection claims.
The case is a proposed class action seeking relief for all indie artists allegedly harmed by Google's conduct. The plaintiffs are seeking financial damages, arguing that music produced by Lyria 3 is taking away sync licensing opportunities from human creators.
The lawsuit asserts that Google markets Lyria 3's outputs to the same buyers as the music created and licensed by the plaintiffs, resulting in direct market substitution at a scale that individual creators cannot match.
The same group of artists previously filed similar lawsuits against Suno, Udio, and Mureka. Tony Justice also has pending class action lawsuits against Suno and Udio.
Universal Music Group (UMG), Warner Music Group (WMG), and Sony Music sued Suno and Udio in 2024 for allegedly training on stolen work. Udio settled with UMG and WMG in late 2025, establishing licensing deals. WMG also settled with Suno, allowing licensed AI music to be downloaded and distributed on streaming platforms. UMG is continuing its fight against Suno, and Sony has not settled either case. Suno and Udio are arguing that their AI training was permissible under "fair use."
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