Labels seek DistroKid data on AI-flagged recordings

The labels are seeking the total number of recordings DistroKid delivered to digital services from the time it began using its prediction model through the present.[3] They also want counts of recordings the model scored as likely AI-generated, either wholly or partly, and the total streams and royalties for recordings flagged that way.[3] If the model identifies Suno as an actual or likely source, the labels want the number of recordings attributed to Suno.[3] Their request also covers the model’s name, its vendor, when DistroKid began using it and information about its accuracy.[3]

The labels filed their motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, while their copyright lawsuit against Suno is pending in Massachusetts.[1] DistroKid is not a party to that lawsuit.[1] The labels say DistroKid has not produced any documents sought in a September subpoena.[2] DistroKid has challenged the relevance of the requested information to the Suno litigation and told Billboard it is committed to transparency and will continue cooperating with the legal process.[4][1] The court had not ruled on the motion.[1]

In an October 9 supplemental response, DistroKid described using a third-party prediction model to test recordings for AI generation.[2] The labels are also seeking details about the model’s accuracy, including the basis for DistroKid’s statements about false positives.[3] That request puts the model’s performance and the meaning of its scores at issue alongside the requested counts. The sought-after figures would be model-identified recordings, not a confirmed count of AI-generated tracks: a separate report described nearly 12 million deliveries to one unnamed major streaming platform between March and September 2026, but that figure covered total track deliveries.[4]

The labels’ lawyers describe DistroKid as a primary channel through which AI-generated recordings are entering the market.[2] They also claim that DistroKid delivered nearly 12 million tracks to one unnamed major streaming platform between March and September 2026, more than every other distributor combined during that period.[4] That figure does not show how many of those tracks the model considered likely AI-generated.[4] Separately, UMG has been suing DistroKid itself since September, and those claims have not been decided by a court.[1]