Suno told a Massachusetts federal court that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data using YT-DLP, Music Business Worldwide reported from the company’s Sep 1, 2026 answer to the first amended complaint by UMG Recordings, Capitol Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. The Verge amplified the filing on Sep 11. The formal admission restates a May 2025 discovery disclosure in plainer terms for the docket: “Suno admits that audio data was obtained from YouTube for use as training data using YT-DLP.”
The labels had alleged that Suno used YT-DL and YT-DLP to circumvent YouTube encryption as part of a stream-ripping theory under the DMCA’s anti-circumvention rules. Suno’s response names only YT-DLP. In the same answer, the company challenges whether UMG and Sony have standing to bring that stream-ripping claim, while its fair use and copyright misuse defenses continue on the broader training fight. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV allowed the stream-ripping claim to proceed on Aug 18, keeping the circumvention theory alive into late-stage discovery.
Warner settled with Suno in November 2025. UMG, Capitol, and Sony remain in the case. Fact discovery closes Sep 30, and summary judgment is expected to focus heavily on fair use. Separately, Suno launched v6 models trained with licensed Warner and BMG catalogs on Sep 9; AITD covered that product ship as post 3371. This brief is the court-admission wave, not a redo of the licensed-model launch. The two tracks can coexist on the same docket timeline: a formal scrape admission in the labels case, and a licensed catalog product already shipping to users.