MLC opposes Udio's streaming-data subpoena, says compliance would take weeks of staff time

What happened

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) formally opposed Udio's motion to enforce its streaming-data subpoena in the music labels' copyright case against the AI music company. The MLC says complying would require "approximately two to three weeks of staff time" from information-technology employees paid $150 to $315 an hour, diverting them from their regular duties.

Why the MLC says no

The MLC says the request "rests on its fundamental misunderstanding of The MLC's role": it administers royalties for musical works, not sound recordings, and it does not generate the data Udio seeks — it receives copies of monthly usage reports submitted by digital service providers, which already hold the same information. It argues Udio can get market-share data from the plaintiff labels themselves and its own streaming presence from the DSPs.

What Udio and Suno want the data for

Udio and Suno, represented by the same lawyer, are demanding label-by-label monthly performance data back to 2021 from the MLC to support their fair-use and copyright-misuse defences — arguing the data could show AI-generated music is not diverting material streams or royalties from the labels. Sony Music is still suing Udio; Universal and Warner have settled with Udio, and Warner is the only major that has settled with and licensed Suno. The MLC had earlier indicated it might produce the data before DSPs including Pandora and Apple Music pushed back. No ruling on the motion has been reported.