Reservoir Sues Suno and Anthropic Over AI Training on Famous Songs

Music company Reservoir has filed two federal lawsuits against the AI firms Suno and Anthropic, accusing both of using copyrighted songs to train their AI models. The suits were filed on Oct. 21, according to Billboard.

Training is the process where an AI system learns patterns by studying huge amounts of existing material. Copyright infringement means using someone's protected work without permission. Reservoir says the songs were used without a licence, which is the permission a rights holder grants in return for payment.

The lawsuits name songs by some of the best-known names in pop and country. They cite Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach." Tracks by Glenn Miller, Kings of Leon and Evanescence are also cited, Billboard reported.

Reservoir's lawyer in both cases is Richard Busch. The company describes itself as an independent music company, meaning it is not owned by one of the three major labels, Universal, Sony or Warner. It is based in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, London, Abu Dhabi and Mumbai. According to its website, the catalogue includes recordings and songwriting copyrights with titles dating back to 1900. Its roster lists Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Sheryl Crow and Snoop Dogg.

The Reservoir filings add to a growing list of legal cases over AI and music. In August 2026, the independent publisher Round Hill Music sued Anthropic and Suno in California federal court over the same issue, Reuters reported. A music publisher is the company that holds the songwriting rights and collects money when a song is used.

Courts in other countries have also weighed in. On July 31, a German court ruled that Suno had broken copyright rules and ordered it to disclose revenue it made from the infringing material, Reuters reported. In September, the Canadian collective SOCAN, which represents songwriters and publishers, filed a claim against Suno in the Federal Court of Canada, Music Business Worldwide reported. The SOCAN claim names the Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides, Now" and Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi."

Music publishers first took Anthropic to court in 2023, alleging that the company had infringed the lyrics of at least 500 songs, Reuters reported in March 2026. That case is one of several that now test whether training an AI model on copyrighted work counts as fair use, a legal exception that allows limited use without permission.

For songwriters and performers, the question is who gets paid. If an AI model learns from a song, the rights holders behind that song want a share of the money. The courts have not yet settled how far that obligation reaches, and none of the new cases has reached a final judgment.

Suno and Anthropic have not been reported as responding to the Reservoir filings.