Read the full report here and commentary in Medium.

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Pictured (L-R): EYB’s James Young and Mike Eli, RIAA President/COO Michele Ballantyne, 
Triple 8 Management Artist Manager Cara Kozulak, RIAA Chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier, 
EYB’s Jon Jones and Chris Thompson

Credit: Sawyer Jones

Pictured (L-R): EYB’s Chris Thompson, Jon Jones, Mike Eli and James Young celebrate RIAA certifications in front of their sold-out crowd

Credit: Sawyer Jones

WASHINGTON, DC (July 19, 2024) – With hints of new music on the horizon, Eli Young Band brought their fan-tested track record to Washington, DC with the 10 Years: 10,000 Towns Tour. The run holds special significance for the band, who recently released deluxe and vinyl versions of the album of the same name, yet a surprise pre-show moment may have altered their standard setlist for their sold-out performance. Mike Eli, James Young, Jon Jones and Chris Thompson stopped by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)® headquarters and were greeted with custom plaques celebrating their Platinum album LIFE AT BEST, plus chart-topping singles 5x Platinum “Crazy Girl” and 3x Platinum “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (released via The Valory Music Co.).

“’Keep on dreaming …’ is a perfect lyric for the Eli Young Band,” expressed lead singer Mike Eli. “Since college that is exactly what the four of us have done, and we are continuously grateful for these moments. We see the impact of our incredibly loyal fans and these RIAA certifications are as much for them as they are for us. Thank you to our team, our road family and everyone who has supported our dreams! Now let’s find a spot in the bus to hang this new hardware … see you all on the road!”

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier said, “We are so honored to once again celebrate with Mike, James, Jon and Chris! Holding tight to their Texas roots while finding fans in all corners of the country, it’s incredible to recognize the reach of Eli Young Band’s music. Congratulations on your new RIAA certifications!”

Previously named Billboard‘s No. 1 Country Song of the Year and ACM Award for Song of the Year, “Crazy Girl” remains EYB’s highest certified title to date. Explore EYB’s career tally here, boasting 13 million RIAA-certified units in the US alone.

Since the band’s formation as college classmates 20 years ago, the Associated Press has celebrated EYB as “a smart, relevant antidote” to overdone clichés in Country music. The musical band of brothers has charted 14 singles on Billboard, including four No. 1 hits with “Crazy Girl,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” 2x Platinum “Love Ain’t” and Platinum “Drunk Last Night.” Additionally, EYB has earned multiple GRAMMY, CMA, CMT, ACA and Teen Choice Award nominations.

While selling out venues from coast-to-coast as strong headliners, EYB has also shared the stage with Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Chris Young, Darius Rucker and Dave Matthews Band. For current tour dates and more, visit eliyoungband.com and follow along on social media with @EliYoungBand.

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Since 1958, #RIAATopCertified tallies for your favorite artists and projects are available to explore at riaa.com/gold-platinum. 

^*The Mid-Year tally includes titles released and certified from January 1 through June 30,2024.

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RIAA-Managed Litigation Would Assure Artist, Songwriter, and Rightsholder Control of their Works

WASHINGTON, DC (June 24, 2024) – The Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) today announced the filing of two copyright infringement cases based on the mass infringement of copyrighted sound recordings copied and exploited without permission by two multi-million-dollar music generation services, Suno and Udio.

The case against Suno, Inc., developer of Suno AI, was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the case against Uncharted Labs, Inc., developer of Udio AI, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs in the cases are music companies that hold rights to sound recordings infringed by Suno and Udio – including Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc., and Warner Records, Inc. The claims cover recordings by artists of multiple genres, styles, and eras.

“The music community has embraced AI and we are already partnering and collaborating with responsible developers to build sustainable AI tools centered on human creativity that put artists and songwriters in charge,” said RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier. “But we can only succeed if developers are willing to work together with us. Unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”

RIAA Chief Legal Officer Ken Doroshow added, “These are straightforward cases of copyright infringement involving unlicensed copying of sound recordings on a massive scale. Suno and Udio are attempting to hide the full scope of their infringement rather than putting their services on a sound and lawful footing. These lawsuits are necessary to reinforce the most basic rules of the road for the responsible, ethical, and lawful development of generative AI systems and to bring Suno’s and Udio’s blatant infringement to an end.”

The cases seek: (1) declarations that the two services infringed plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings; (2) injunctions barring the services from infringing plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings in the future; and (3) damages for the infringements that have already occurred.

Key Allegations

While the facts of each case regarding each of the defendants’ unlicensed copying of plaintiffs’ sound recordings are distinct, they also contain a common set of core allegations regarding the training, development, and operation of Suno and Udio.

The Suno complaint is available here and the Udio complaint is available here.

A graphic restating allegations regarding copying of iconic music is available here.

Excerpts from the complaints include:

• “AI companies, like all other enterprises, must abide by the laws that protect human creativity and ingenuity.  There is nothing that exempts AI technology from copyright law or that excuses AI companies from playing by the rules.  Th[ese] lawsuit[s] see[k] to enforce these basic principles.” (Complaints ¶ 2.)
• “[T]here is both promise and peril with AI. As more powerful and sophisticated AI tools emerge, the ability for AI to weave itself into the processes of music creation, production, and distribution grows. If developed with the permission and participation of copyright owners, generative AI tools will be able to assist humans in creating and producing new and innovative music. But if developed irresponsibly, without regard for fundamental copyright protections, those same tools threaten enduring and irreparable harm to recording artists, record labels, and the music industry, inevitably reducing the quality of new music available to consumers and diminishing our shared culture.” (Complaints ¶ 3.)
• “Building and operating [these services] requires at the outset copying and ingesting massive amounts of data to “train” a software “model” to generate outputs. For [these services], this process involved copying decades worth of the world’s most popular sound recordings and then ingesting those copies [to] generate outputs that imitate the qualities of genuine human sound recordings.” (Complaints ¶ 7.)
• “When those who develop such [services] steal copyrighted sound recordings, the [services’] synthetic musical outputs could saturate the market with machine-generated content that will directly compete with, cheapen, and ultimately drown out the genuine sound recordings on which the [services were] built.” (Complaints ¶ 4.)
• “Given that the foundation of [these businesses] has been to exploit copyrighted sound recordings without permission, [they have] been deliberately evasive about what exactly [they have] copied. This is unsurprising. After all, to answer that question honestly would be to admit willful copyright infringement on an almost unimaginable scale.” (Complaints ¶ 8.)
• “Of course, it is obvious what [these services are] trained on. [They] copied Plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings en masse and ingested them into [their] AI model[s]. [These] product[s] can only work the way [they do] by copying vast quantities of sound recordings from artists across every genre, style, and era. (Complaints ¶ 9.)
• “[These services are] not exempt from the copyright laws that protect human authorship. Like any other market participant, [they] cannot reproduce copyrighted works for a commercial purpose without permission. Heedless of this basic principle, [their] unauthorized copying erodes the value and integrity of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings with rapid and devastating impact. [These] service[s] generat[e] music with such speed and scale that it risks overrunning the market with AI-generated music and generally devaluing and substituting for human-created work.” (Complaints ¶ 12.)
• “[The services] cannot avoid liability for [their] willful copyright infringement by claiming fair use. The doctrine of fair use promotes human expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyrighted works in certain, limited circumstances, but [the services] offe[r] imitative machine-generated music—not human creativity or expression.” (Complaints ¶ 14.)
• “Since the day [they] launched, [the services have] flouted the rights of copyright owners in the music industry as part of a mad dash to become the dominant AI music generation service. Neither [these services] nor any other generative AI company, can be allowed to advance toward this goal by trampling the rights of copyright owners.” (Suno ¶ 82, Udio ¶ 91.)

Music Community Support

The following organizations and individuals support this effort to protect creative works and develop responsible, lawful AI tools that promote and extend human creativity.

Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) President and Chief Executive Officer: “Independent artists, record labels, and songwriters make immense contributions to culture, yet they often suffer the most when services build businesses by using their work without permission or compensation. We stand united with the music community to defend creators’ rights against callous entities like Suno and Udio that aim to steal, misappropriate, and profit from the life’s work of talented performers and writers. We envision a future where the human spirit drives innovation, rather than being exploited by it.”

Tino Gagliardi, American Federation of Musicians of the US and Canada, International President:  “The theft of our members’ instrumental sound recordings – copied and exploited without permission by artificial intelligence – is of great concern to the American Federation of Musicians. Musicians and artists whose work and talents form the foundation of digital replication must be provided with protections, including consent for the use of their sound, credit, and fair compensation for their music. We support the RIAA in this lawsuit against Suno and Udio, prohibiting the unlicensed use of musicians’ copywritten work.”

Jen Jacobsen, Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) Executive Director: “Artists deserve for their hard work and creativity to be respected in the marketplace and protected from services like Suno and Udio, which undermine the very principles on which copyright was founded. These services are engaging in massive theft to train their models and flood playlists with machine imitations, infringing on creators’ rights and devaluing art itself. ARA is grateful these cases have been filed in pursuit of a music ecoystem that truly supports artists and fans.”

Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer: “Real music comes from real life and real people. We must regulate the companies that are backed by multibillion-dollar investors who are offering shortcuts, knockoffs, and low-quality imitations. I urge the courts to recognize that ‘training’ AI on copyrighted music requires permission. It is vital that artists and songwriters are in charge of their own work, story, and message. Black Music Action Coalition are founding members of the Human Artistry Campaign and stand united with our fellow advocacy groups on this issue!”

Dr. Moiya McTier, Human Artistry Campaign (HAC) Senior Advisor: “The need to get consent before using copyrighted works in AI models is a founding principle of the Human Artistry Campaign and a fundamental pillar of any notion of ‘ethical’ or ‘responsible’ AI. Training AI services on stolen music is an insult to individual human artistry and an attack on the autonomy of every artist, author, and creator.”

Music Workers Alliance (MWA): “Music Workers Alliance represents indie musicians. We believe the ingestion of our recorded work without our consent, credit, and compensation by Generative AI systems to be a violation of our copyrights, and a threat to the livelihoods of countless musicians . . . and we are in full support of the RIAA’s lawsuit against Suno and Udio. These corporations steal our work to create sound-alikes, effectively forcing us into a ‘training’ role to which we never consented. Their more expensive subscriptions allow users to commercialize the outputs, placing us in unfair competition with an inexhaustible supply of knock-offs of our own work, published without any credit or acknowledgement of our role in their creation, and yet capable of displacing us in record production, film, video, and television scoring, and other markets. That we see none of the profits these corporations reap from the sale of subscriptions to their services is grossly unfair. Recording musicians have already experienced one major devaluation of our work due to the failure to regulate the Section 512 DMCA Safe Harbors. Permitting our unauthorized work to be used in the creation of AI Generated ‘music’ will further devalue our work, driving an untold number from the profession. We hope that the court will intervene to put a stop to this exploitive infringement before the damage to our community, the Constitutional principle of copyright, and the culture we all share becomes disastrous and irreversible.” 

David Israelite, National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) President and Chief Executive Officer: “NMPA is completely supportive of this lawsuit against Suno and Udio. Both platforms clearly train on copyrighted recordings – it is apparent to anyone listening to what they generate. This case is precedent-setting and integral to artists’ rights as human creators. Millions of people already use these tools which amounts to countless infringements on real musicians. We will continue to back the RIAA in their mission to safeguard artists.”

Harvey Mason jr., Recording Academy Chief Executive Officer: “New technology has been a valuable tool used by generations of music creators, and there is no reason responsible generative artificial intelligence will be any different. To maintain the trust of artists and fans alike, AI companies must properly gain permission from and compensate creators when using their works, and we support the RIAA in taking action against services that seek to improperly profit from the creators and iconic sound recordings that make these services function.”

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator: “Human-created music must be protected. The defendants’ massive infringement of recorded music – in large part constituting the creative works of SAG-AFTRA Members – is illegal, unethical, and must not remain unchecked. SAG-AFTRA wholeheartedly supports these claims.”

Dina LaPolt, Songwriters of North America (SONA) Board Member: “These cases pull back the curtain on the massive unjust use/ ingestion of artists’ recordings and songwriters’ work by well-backed companies like Suno and Udio who refuse to play by the rules and pay creators for their work. This is a big and important fight that impacts everyone in the music and entertainment business and could determine the future of human art.”

Michael Huppe, SoundExchange President and Chief Executive Officer: “AI has the potential to bring great benefits to the music industry, both for music makers and consumers. There are a myriad of AI companies that properly work with the creative community, recognizing the foundational value they bring to training the algorithms. But the music industry cannot condone businesses that thrive on wholesale copying of creators works without permission or compensation.”

The post Record Companies Bring Landmark Cases for Responsible AI Against Suno and Udio in Boston and New York Federal Courts, Respectively appeared first on RIAA.

Pictured (L-R): Eddie Montgomery, Erin D. D. Burr (RIAA), Angie Gentry, Bryan Frasher (Red Light Management), Jackie Jones (RIAA) & Fletcher Lyon (Red Light Management)

Credit: TenSight Media

NASHVILLE, TN (June 7, 2024) – Last night, the Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) SVP, Media Relations + Gold & Platinum Program Erin D. D. Burr and SVP, Artist & Industry Relations Jackie Jones surprised Eddie Montgomery, alongside the late Troy Gentry’s wife Angie Gentry and Red Light Management team Bryan Frasher and Fletcher Lyon, with plaques commemorating Platinum “Something To Be Proud Of,” plus Gold “Hell Yeah” and “My Town” singles released through Columbia Nashville. The moment was a highlight for the packed crowd of fans attending “Montgomery Gentry featuring Eddie Montgomery: Celebrating 25 Years” with special guests Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Allie Colleen and Ira Dean at 3rd & Lindsley. The new certifications raise Montgomery Gentry’s catalogue to 7.5 million sales and streaming equivalents in the US alone. RIAA also expressed gratitude for Eddie’s support in protecting others’ voices and images – as well as Montgomery Gentry’s legacy – through recent conversation with policymakers about the impact of AI on the music community and beyond. Watch here.

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Pictured (L-R): Warner CEO Robert Kyncl & FKA twigs share impactful personal testimony

FKA twigs testifies on behalf of voice and likeness consent regarding AI

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl offers perspective to Senate Committee

WASHINGTON, DC (April 30, 2024) – Singer, songwriter, producer, dancer & actor Tahliah Debrett Barnett (“FKA twigs”) and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl shared powerful testimony during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing earlier today in the nation’s capital about the importance of guardrails to protect an individual’s voice and likeness as well as the responsibility of tech platforms as artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly evolves. The discussion focused on the bipartisan Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act – a proposal introduced by Senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar, and Thom Tillis that would offer federal protections against the use of non-consensual digital replications in audiovisual works or sound recordings for all Americans. 

Multi-hyphenate talent, FKA twigs throughout acknowledged the importance of consent from the individual whose being is the very essence of this technology. “The fact that somebody could take my voice, change lyrics, change messaging or work with an artist that I didn’t, it really leaves me very vulnerable. If legislation isn’t put in place to protect artists, not only will we let artists who really care about what we do – that have spent a long time developing themselves – but it would also mean that fans wouldn’t be able to trust people that they’ve spent so many years investing in.”

In response to claims that deepfakes of living or deceased people are needed for filmmaking, FKA twigs explained, “I think the problem is, if you’re able to use an artist’s voice and likeness without consent about their life story, you’re giving the impression that it’s the equivalent of an autobiography, rather a biography … and that’s a confusion. If you’re able to use my voice and my exact face, [then] a team of writers in Hollywood that want to over dramatize things and make it more tragic or fantastical, that’s what makes me really nervous, uncomfortable and vulnerable. If it’s an actor, we know to take it with a pinch of salt. If it is the person themself, then it just feels too clear and not fair.”

Informed by his past experience as a top executive at YouTube and Netflix, Kyncl spoke from deep knowledge and respect for both technology and creators and called for clear guardrails for AI. “Through AI, it is very easy for someone to impersonate me and cause all manner of havoc. They could speak to an artist in a way that  could destroy our relationship or say untrue things that would damage our business.”

Kyncl summed up, “the truth is, everyone is vulnerable.”

In a watershed moment, in response to questioning from Senator Mazie Hirono, all witnesses present including those calling for changes or limits to the proposed legislation agreed that Congress should enact new protections for individuals’ voices and images.

Addressing free expression concerns, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland added, ”I am concerned that we are only looking at one side of the First  Amendment consideration here. The other side is the right that each of us has to our own freedom of speech  to be able to communicate our ideas, to associate ourselves with ideas that we want to so and not be  associated with ideas we disagree with – that is being really trampled on by this unfettered ability of people  without a federal right.”

Senator Tillis said, “I’m glad that we’re taking up this bill. I do feel strongly we should do everything we can to try and move it in this Congress.”

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier applauded the Committee’s thoughtful review of the NO FAKES Act discussion draft. “Today’s hearing sets the table for swift and strong action by Congress to protect every American from unconsented deepfakes and voice clones. Compelling, personal testimony from both FKA twigs, Warner CEO Robert Kyncl, and SAG-AFTRA National Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland made an overwhelming case for new legislation protecting creators’ livelihoods and legacy and giving us all the power to stop bad actors from using our voices and images to generate abusive deepfakes.”

At today’s hearing, Chairman Coons announced plans to finalize and formally introduce the NO FAKES Act this summer. Alongside the House No AI FRAUD Act, both chambers are now moving forward with national measures to protect individuals’ voice and likeness rights. 

Kyncl’s op-ed published today in The Hill, titled Four Rules To Make Artificial Intelligence Work For Humans further laid out the importance of Consent, Monetization, Attribution and Provenance as AI is developed. He expressed, “These proposals would establish clear ground rules, helping to prevent a world where AI can appropriate a person’s identity without their permission. This would also have a ‘halo effect,’ helping to curb misinformation, identity theft, and hate-fueled content.”

Watch The NO FAKES Act: Protecting Americans from Unauthorized Digital Replicas hearing here.

The post Singer-Actor FKA twigs & Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl Advocate for Voice & Likeness Protections at Senate Judiciary Hearing appeared first on RIAA.

“The 2024 Special 301 Report provides a vital snapshot of the environment for music creators globally as well as a critical blueprint for US engagement with countries around the world to support them,” commented RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier. “We appreciate recognition of troubling trends in numerous regions that would harm the American music community, including limitations on streaming rights, insufficient enforcement, and stream-ripping piracy, and the acknowledgement of positive developments regarding copyright protection and enforcement. We encourage the US Government in future Reports to address adequate copyright protection in the context of AI as committed to by President Biden in the G7, and to oppose broad exceptions including text and data mining. We also urge the US Government to engage with countries subject to ongoing trade investigations, and to address deeply problematic proposals on copyright and contract matters, notably in South Africa.”

“We thank Ambassador Tai and the entire interagency team for their tireless work on this vital process. RIAA strongly supports the US Government’s intensive approach to promoting American creators internationally, including through existing and future IP dialogues with the European Union, India and the United Kingdom.”

The post RIAA Addresses IP Protections in USTR’S 2024 Special 301 Report appeared first on RIAA.

LINK TO FULL ENGLISH REPORT HERE.

INFORME DE FIN DE AÑO 2023 DE RIAA SOBRE INGRESOS DE MÚSICA LATINA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS

La música latina en los EE. UU. creció en cuanto a su popularidad y valor durante los últimos ocho años, superando a la música grabada en general cada año durante este período de fuerte crecimiento. En 2023, el género alcanzó su marca más alta con $1400 millones, que representa un crecimiento del 16 % con respecto a 2022. Ajustados por la inflación, los ingresos del mercado de la música latina en 2023 ahora están un 14 % por encima del pico previo en 2005.

ENLACE AL INFORME COMPLETO EN ESPAÑOL AQUÍ.

The post Year-End 2023 RIAA U.S. Latin Music Revenue Report / Informe de Fin del Año 2023 de RIAA Sobre Ingresos de Música Latina en Estados Unidos appeared first on RIAA.

(L-R: Leigh Holt (manager, maddjett), Steve Bartels (Founder, Music Bartels), Lauren Daigle, Caren Siedle (CEO Centricity Music), Michele Ballantyne (RIAA President & COO), Andrew Lambeth (VP, Sales & Promotions, Centricity Music)) 

This past weekend, prior to taking the stage at a jam-packed Bridgestone Arena, 2x GRAMMY Award winner and multi-platinum selling artist Lauren Daigle was presented with plaques honoring recent RIAA Certifications. Her 2018 record breaking album, Look Up Child, was officially certified 2x Platinum. The breakthrough album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart and solidified Daigle’s position as a mainstay on the charts.  She also received a plaque honoring the Gold Certification of her single, “Thank God I Do,” which is the lead single from Daigle’s 2023 self-titled album. It marks her 6^th Billboard No. 1, making her the first artist to have two singles top the Top Christian Songs chart for more than 20 weeks. 

Lauren Daigle is a two-time Grammy®, seven-time Billboard Music, four-time American Music, and twelve-time GMA Dove Music Award winner.  Since the release of her GRAMMY® Award-winning, 2x platinum-certified 2018 album Look Up Child, which included the 6x platinum-certified hit “You Say,” Daigle has been a mainstay on the Billboard charts. When Look Up Child debuted at No. 3 on the Top 200 Albums chart, Daigle became the first female artist in history to simultaneously hit the Top 10 on both Billboard’s Pop and Christian Album charts. Her recent GRAMMY Nominated and Mike Elizondo-produced, 23-song, self-titled album’s debut single, “Thank God I Do,” gave Daigle her 6^th Billboard No. 1 and was recently certified Gold. She’s garnered over a billion streams and wowed crowds for years with sold-out US and international tours. Daigle continues to cement her status as a modern vocal powerhouse with a huge global fanbase. 

Off stage, Daigle remains committed to investing her time to promote music education, work with at-risk youth, and provide care for children, the elderly, and those in need through The Price Fund, an organization she founded in 2018. To date, she has distributed over $2.5 million to 42 nonprofits around the world. 

The post Lauren Daigle Celebrates New Certifications at Headline Arena Show with RIAA President & COO Michele Ballantyne appeared first on RIAA.

Download the full report here.

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