UMG and Sony tell court they are 'working on a resolution' over DistroKid AI-music data in Suno case

What happened

On 28 October 2026, US District Judge Arun Subramanian approved a joint stipulation in UMG Recordings et al. v. Kid Distro Holdings, LLC d/b/a DistroKid, No. 1:26-mc-00510-AS (S.D.N.Y., Doc. 13). The stipulation, signed by lawyers for both sides on 27 October, says the parties "are working on a resolution" of the labels' bid to force DistroKid to hand over data about AI-generated music, and gives DistroKid until 6 November 2026 to respond to the labels' motion to compel.

What the labels want

Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment served DistroKid, a music distributor, with a third-party subpoena in September 2026 and asked the Manhattan court on 14 October to enforce it. They want monthly figures, from when DistroKid began using a third-party "prediction model" to test uploads for AI generation, showing how many recordings it delivered to streaming services, how many it tested, how many the model scored as "likely AI-generated", the total streams and royalties those recordings generated, and how many the model attributes to Suno. They also want the model's name and vendor. DistroKid says it distributes 30-40% of "all new music in the world".

Why it matters for the Suno case

The labels want the data as evidence in their copyright lawsuit against Suno, pending in federal court in Massachusetts, where Suno argues training on copyrighted recordings is fair use. Market harm is one factor a court weighs in that defence, and the labels argue DistroKid's data would show how much AI-generated music is reaching the market. No ruling on the motion has been made; the stipulation does not say what a resolution would involve or whether DistroKid will hand over any of the data.

Related proceedings

UMG separately sued DistroKid in Delaware federal court on 15 September 2026, alleging copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices; Sony is not a party to that case and DistroKid has until 4 December to respond. UMG and Sony first sued Suno in June 2024 and filed a second suit on 18 September 2026 alleging Suno copied 60,202 recordings without a licence. DistroKid told Billboard on 16 October that it is a third party in the litigation and is "committed to transparency and will continue to cooperate with the legal process".