“The next Elvis won’t pick up a guitar”: Eminem’s publisher and the King’s estate take Suno to court

Eminem spent a career defending his words. Now his publisher says an AI company took them to teach a machine to rap.

Eight Mile Style and the owners of Elvis Presley’s catalogue filed two separate lawsuits against Suno, one of the most widely used AI song generators, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday 6 November, US time. The same legal team, including Richard Busch, the lawyer who represented Marvin Gaye’s family in the “Blurred Lines” case, is behind both.

What do the lawsuits say?

Eight Mile Style alleges Suno copied 269 of its compositions to train its model and allows users to generate songs and lyrics resembling Eminem’s recordings. The publisher controls or administers hundreds of Eminem songs, including “Lose Yourself”, “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady”.

The Presley complaint, filed by a group including Authentic Brands Group and Raleigh Music Publishing, alleges Suno copied 859 Presley compositions and lets users produce music that imitates his voice and likeness. Its exhibits include nearly 50 recorded examples the plaintiffs say infringe.

“The next Elvis won’t pick up a guitar,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote, framing the fear at the centre of both cases.

The Presley owners are seeking damages, an injunction, and an order that Suno destroy unauthorised copies, including those held in its training datasets. Neither complaint, as reported, puts a dollar figure on the damages.

What is the ELVIS Act?

Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness, Voice and Image Security Act, passed in 2024, protects performers’ voices from unauthorised AI imitation. The Presley case uses it to argue that Suno exploits the singer’s distinctive vocal timbre without permission. That makes it one of the first big tests of a law built for exactly this fight, brought on behalf of the artist it was nicknamed after.

What does Suno say?

Suno said it does not allow prompts for specific artists’ names and songs, and works with outside providers to screen uploaded audio and lyrics. “We are always working to strengthen our guardrails,” the company said. A spokesperson said its aim is to help people make original music, not to profit from artists’ identities.

Where does this fit in the AI music fight?

Warner Music Group settled its own case against Suno last year and later struck a deal with the company. Universal Music Group and Sony Music are still pursuing claims. Eight Mile Style is also in a separate copyright dispute with Meta.

The Presley owners are fighting on more than one front. Last month they sued Anthropic, alleging its Claude chatbot was trained on 274 Presley songs without permission and seeking US$48.6 million. Anthropic denies the claims.

What does it mean for listeners and artists here?

AI-made songs are reaching the same streaming services Australians use every day. If courts accept that training on a catalogue, or copying a voice, needs permission and payment, AI music companies would have to license far more of what they use, and artists would gain new leverage over how their sound is copied.