Type “Eminem” into Suno and you might get blocked. But according to two new lawsuits, if you type his real name instead, or slip a few spaces between the letters, the filter apparently waves you straight through.
That alleged loophole sits at the center of separate complaints filed in recent days in federal court in Northern California.
One comes from the rights holders behind Elvis Presley’s legacy, the other from Eight Mile Style, the company that manages hundreds of Eminem’s songs.
Both accuse the AI music generator of copyright infringement and of exploiting the artists’ identities.
Suno builds full songs, vocals and lyrics included, from a short written prompt. The company says millions of people have used it since launch, which is exactly what has rights holders worried.
On the Elvis side, Authentic Brands Group, which handles the singer’s image, has teamed up with publisher Raleigh Music Publishing.
Their case leans on Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, a 2024 law written specifically to stop voice cloning without consent. They say Suno spits out tracks carrying the King’s unmistakable timbre.
Their complaint also includes a line that feels aimed at the whole industry: “the next Elvis won’t touch a guitar.” It’s a warning about what happens to new talent when anyone can conjure a convincing imitation from a text box.
Eight Mile Style is focused on the words. The publisher says Suno copies Eminem’s lyrics, pointing to songs ranging from “Lose Yourself” to “The Real Slim Shady.” Marshall Mathers himself isn’t a party to the case.
Suno sees it differently. In court, the company argues there’s nothing illegal about asking for a song in the style of an artist.
It says users are barred from naming specific artists or song titles, and that outside providers are responsible for checking uploaded files.
This fight is far from new for Suno. Universal, Sony and Warner all sued back in June 2024. Warner dropped its complaint last year in exchange for a licensing deal, and BMG and France’s Believe later followed.
Suno says its v6 model, launched in September, was trained on those licensed catalogs. Sony and Universal weren’t convinced. They headed back to court in Massachusetts just nine days later, calling v6 the “fruit of the same poisonous tree.”
The pile keeps growing. Jason Isbell and other artists are pushing for a class action over the use of their identities, and independent publisher Round Hill Music has filed its own suit.
None of it seems to scare off investors. Suno raised $400 million in June at a valuation of $5.4 billion, so there’s clearly money on the table if the courts decide someone owes a bill.
These same rights holders have already shown how big that bill could get. The Elvis camp is seeking more than $41 million from Anthropic over training its Claude model on 274 songs, while Eight Mile Style wants around $110 million from Meta. Suno now faces a fresh pair of plaintiffs with a track record of aiming high.
