Universal Music Group filed a federal lawsuit in Delaware accusing DistroKid of deceptive trade practices and copyright infringement related to AI-generated music and infringing material, seeking statutory damages and injunctive relief.

UMG Recordings, Capitol Records, and Capitol CMG allege in the District of Delaware that AI-generated content is misrepresented as artist-backed releases and that DistroKid distributes infringing tracks.

DistroKid markets itself as a platform for independent artists to upload to Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and 150+ platforms for a yearly fee, with ownership of a majority stake by CVC Capital Partners and a minority stake by Spotify; the company did not comment.

UMG’s exhibits identify roughly 1,000 infringements and suggest nearly 2,000 more, noting that millions of tracks escape rights-management tools and include altered versions or tracks that copy official art or merge with unrelated songs.

The filing notes that rights-management systems from YouTube, Meta and TikTok flag conflicts that DistroKid allegedly acknowledges but continues distributing under the same codes, highlighting five specific DistroKid-distributed tracks cited by UMG as infringing.

The case comes as streaming platforms and industry players navigate AI tracks, with actions from Spotify and Apple Music to label or restrict AI content and UMG pursuing AI-related licensing deals.

UMG’s plaintiffs represent artists such as Ariana Grande, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Nirvana and Rihanna; Universal Music Group entities are listed as corporate parents, with Bollore SE as an affiliate.

UMG seeks statutory damages and injunctive relief for violations of the exclusive rights to sound recordings.

The filing accuses DistroKid of ISRC theft, reusing ISRCs for different tracks, and including deceptive metadata, such as mixes implying classic artists, undermining rights management.

The complaint highlights high-volume accounts like Lofi Chill, Chill Flow Radio and Mellow Vibes Radio, asserting that a vast majority of outputs are AI-generated using Suno and released in large daily and weekly volumes.

It also claims DistroKid distributes unlicensed remixes, speed-altered versions, infringing album art, unlicensed samples, and AI-generated tracks, citing thousands of releases from a single high-volume user.

This lawsuit follows a prior $500 million UMG case against TuneCore and its parent Believe from 2024, which settled in April, as UMG expands its AI-related legal and strategic moves.