The Majors Want DistroKid's AI Numbers for Their Suno Case in Massachusetts. Now They Say They're 'Working on a Resolution,' and DistroKid Has Until Nov. 6

Every independent artist in this city who uploads through a distributor should be paying attention to this one, because the fight over AI music has turned into a fight over data, and the data is about where your songs are competing.

Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and DistroKid told a federal court in Manhattan that they 'are working on a resolution' in their dispute over DistroKid's AI music data, Music Business Worldwide reported. The joint filing, signed Oct. 27, was approved by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Oct. 28. DistroKid now has until Nov. 6 to respond to the labels' request for a court order.

The filing doesn't say what a resolution would look like, or whether DistroKid will hand over anything, MBW noted.

<h3>Why it's a Massachusetts story</h3>

The labels want DistroKid's numbers as evidence in their 2024 copyright lawsuit against Suno, the AI music company, which is pending in federal court in Massachusetts, per MBW. Suno argues that training its models on copyrighted recordings is fair use. In weighing that defense, a court looks at whether the use harms the market for the original works. UMG and Sony say DistroKid's data would show how much AI-generated music is actually reaching that market.

On Oct. 26, the federal court in Massachusetts cleared the two majors to question C.C. Gong, a former principal at Suno investor Menlo Ventures, under oath over a since-deleted social media post, MBW reported. 'I've personally shifted most of my listening to Suno,' Gong wrote. 'I was so tired of Spotify giving me the same overplayed recommendations.'

<h3>What the labels are asking for</h3>

UMG and Sony asked the Manhattan court on Oct. 14 to enforce a subpoena they served on DistroKid in September. In their motion, they said DistroKid 'refuses to produce a single document,' and called it 'one of the primary conduits by which the streaming market is being flooded with AI-generated recordings,' according to MBW. DistroKid says it distributes 30 to 40 percent of 'all new music in the world.'

The proposed order would require monthly figures going back to when DistroKid started using a third-party 'prediction model' to test tracks for AI generation: how many recordings it delivered to streaming services, how many it tested, and how many the model scored as 'likely AI-generated, whether in whole or in part.' The labels also want 'the total streams and royalties' those flagged tracks earned, and, where the model points to Suno, how many recordings are attributed to it. They're also asking for 'the name and vendor of the prediction model' and the basis for DistroKid's statements about false positives.

DistroKid's position, as the labels describe it, is that its AI data has little to do with whether Suno acted unlawfully. In a statement to Billboard on Oct. 16, DistroKid said it is a third party and is 'committed to transparency and will continue to cooperate with the legal process,' MBW reported.

<h3>The stakes</h3>

UMG and Sony first sued Suno in June 2024 alongside Warner Music Group, which settled with Suno in November 2025. On Sept. 18, the two remaining majors filed a second suit accusing Suno of copying 60,202 of their recordings without a license. At statutory damages of up to $150,000 per willfully infringed recording, MBW calculated that second suit's theoretical exposure at just over $9 billion.

Separately, UMG sued DistroKid itself in Delaware on Sept. 15, alleging that 'DistroKid is flooding platforms with AI-generated "slop" that siphons revenue and listeners from the legitimate artists and rightsholders.' A footnote says the suit 'is not about the distribution of AI-generated music when clearly disclosed as such.' DistroKid has until Dec. 4 to respond. Its VP of artist services, Amanda Ferri, told The Verge that 'a very small number of recordings' were removed in response to UMG's claims, and that DistroKid 'strongly dispute[s] the allegations.'

<h3>Suno is digging, too</h3>

Suno isn't just playing defense. It has subpoenaed The Mechanical Licensing Collective for streaming data, and the parties agreed to a Nov. 2 response deadline for The MLC, Digital Music News reported. Suno says the data matters to its fair use and copyright misuse defenses: whether the majors have suffered actual market harm from AI music on streaming services, or whether their licensing terms, including minimum-payment provisions, insulate them, and whether they use catalog power to keep services from offering cheaper AI content.

Not everyone wants that data out. Pandora's counsel told The MLC back in July that 'Pandora does not consent to any production that includes Pandora data,' according to emails DMN reported. Apple has moved to quash a separate Suno deposition subpoena.

<h3>Dez's take</h3>

Here's what I think, and it's my opinion. Both sides want the same thing: proof of what AI music is doing to the market. The labels want to show it's flooding services and taking money from real artists. Suno wants to show the majors are fine. The numbers that settle that argument are sitting with distributors and royalty collectors, not the people actually making music.

If you're a Boston artist on DistroKid, keep your credits clean and your session files saved. If this data ever comes out, a 'prediction model' flagging human tracks as AI is a real risk, and the false-positive question the labels raised cuts both ways. Watch Nov. 6.