"Warner is out, Sony is in: the actual state of the AI-music lawsuits"

Since late 2025, headlines have framed the major labels' cases against Suno and Udio as resolved: settlements, partnerships, licensed platforms. The dockets tell a more precise story, and the precision matters.

UMG v. Suno (D. Mass.)

The six Warner plaintiffs dismissed their claims with prejudice in a stipulation filed in December 2025 — they cannot refile. Everyone else stayed. UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Sony Music Entertainment remain active plaintiffs: they moved to amend the complaint in May 2026, objected in April to how Suno's licensing agreement with Warner affects the case, and argued before a magistrate judge on July 9. This case is being litigated, not wound down.

UMG v. Uncharted Labs / Udio (S.D.N.Y.)

Here the exits look different: UMG and Capitol dismissed without prejudice in November 2025 — the right to refile is preserved, which is what you would expect while a licensing relationship is being implemented. Warner's entities followed the same month, also without prejudice. The Sony plaintiffs remain: the court denied a motion to dismiss one of their counts in April 2026, discovery runs through August 25, and a status conference is set for September 18.

The one-sentence version

Two cases, five distinct plaintiff positions, two different kinds of dismissal — and zero merits rulings on fair use. "The labels settled with the AI companies" compresses all of that into a sentence that is wrong for at least one major label in each case.

Both case records in the Index carry per-plaintiff status, updated against the dockets, with every assertion dated and sourced.