Elvis Presley's rights holders sue Anthropic over alleged AI training on 274 songs
Authentic Brands Group and other owners of Elvis Presley's music sued Anthropic on 23 October, alleging its Claude models were trained on 274 songs without a licence. They seek about $41.1m; Anthropic says it will defend the case.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The owners of Elvis Presley's music catalogue sued the AI company Anthropic on Friday 23 October, alleging it used 274 of his songs without permission to train its Claude models. The GuardianLC “accusing Anthropic of infringing on the rights of 274 songs by Presley. The lawsuit, first reported by Billboard, was filed on Friday.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Gulf NewsN “The lawsuit was filed on Friday, October 23, in federal court in San Francisco, where Anthropic is based.” Read at Gulf News ↗ Left · 2The lead plaintiff is Authentic Brands Group, the licensing company that controls Presley's intellectual property and likeness; NBC News and Gulf News say other companies, trusts and individuals who hold rights to his music are also plaintiffs. NBC NewsLC “along with other companies, trusts and individuals who own rights to his music” Read at NBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “the licensing organization that has ownership of both Presley’s music and likeness” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The named works include "All Shook Up", "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Don't Be Cruel", "A Little Less Conversation" and "Return to Sender". NBC NewsLC ““All Shook Up,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “A Little Less Conversation” and “Return to Sender.”” Read at NBC News ↗
Left · 2The complaint says the infringement occurred throughout "the entire development" of Claude and continues as users prompt it to reproduce lyrics or make unauthorised adaptations; it says Anthropic built its business model on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before. NBC NewsLC “the infringement has occurred throughout “the entire development” of Anthropic’s flagship Claude models” Read at NBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before” Read at The Guardian ↗ Centre · 1According to the Los Angeles Times, as cited by Gulf News, the suit says the songs were placed in a permanent central library from which subsets were copied to train later Claude models. Gulf NewsN “into a permanent, general-purpose central library intended to be retained indefinitely, from which subsets were selected and copied again to train the next generation of Claude models” Read at Gulf News ↗ Left · 2The plaintiffs say Anthropic's guardrails were added after it was sued and are ineffective: asked to recreate songs "for a modern audience", Claude produced versions with the same structure and hooks and light rewording, which the complaint says amounts to reproducing the songs. NBC NewsLC “The complaint notes that when asked recently to re-create specific songs “for a modern audience,” Claude did so.” Read at NBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “demonstrates that Anthropic knowingly engaged and continues to willfully engage in copyright infringement” Read at The Guardian ↗
Mixed · 2They seek statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each of the 274 works, about $41.1 million, a permanent injunction against further infringement, and destruction of all unauthorised copies. NBC NewsLC “seeking $41.1 million in statutory copyright damages — up to $150,000 for each of the 274 works” Read at NBC News ↗ Gulf NewsN “an order for the company to destroy all unauthorised copies” Read at Gulf News ↗ Mixed · 2Lead attorney Richard Busch said the plaintiffs are "guardians of, and highly protective of" Elvis's songs. Gulf News notes he previously represented Marvin Gaye's family in the "Blurred Lines" case. NBC NewsLC “the Elvis Plaintiffs are guardians of, and highly protective of, Elvis’s song which are some of the most iconic of all time” Read at NBC News ↗ Gulf NewsN “previously represented Marvin Gaye's family in the Blurred Lines copyright case” Read at Gulf News ↗ Mixed · 2An Anthropic spokesperson said: "We disagree with the claims and intend to defend this case fully." Gulf News adds that Anthropic has previously argued that training on copyrighted material can be protected by fair use. NBC NewsLC ““We disagree with the claims and intend to defend this case fully.”” Read at NBC News ↗ Gulf NewsN “Anthropic has previously argued that training AI models on copyrighted material can be protected under the US legal doctrine of fair use.” Read at Gulf News ↗
Mixed · 2The suit joins a wave of music-industry cases against Anthropic: Universal Music, Concord and ABKCO expanded their lyrics suit in January, BMG, Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell have filed similar suits this year, and Round Hill (also represented by Busch) and Reservoir Media have sued Anthropic and Suno. NBC NewsLC “In January, Universal Music, Concord Music Group and ABKCO Music expanded their lawsuit against Anthropic” Read at NBC News ↗ Gulf NewsN “Two independent music companies have also sued Anthropic and the AI music generator Suno” Read at Gulf News ↗ Left · 3Last year Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors who said it used pirated books, the largest in US copyright history. The Guardian says the Presley case is one of the first major challenges brought directly by an artist's estate and could set a precedent; Gulf News says it is at an early stage and no claims have been tested in court. NBC NewsLC “Anthropic agreed to a landmark $1.5 billion settlement in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by authors” Read at NBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “one of the first major legal challenges brought directly by an artist’s estate against an AI developer” Read at The Guardian ↗ Gulf NewsN “The Presley lawsuit is at an early stage, and none of the claims have been tested in court.” Read at Gulf News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left3 outlets
- Framing
- Leads on the lawsuit and its significance for AI and artists' rights, quoting the complaint's strongest accusations and placing it within wider musician concerns about AI.
- Emphasis
- Precedent for estates versus AI developers, willful infringement, the earlier settlement and wave of music suits (NBC); AI 'slop' and Spotify removals (Guardian).
- Leaves out or plays down
- The Guardian does not include Anthropic's response; neither mentions fair use.
- Charged language
- “slop”“built its entire business model on infringing copyrights at an unfathomable scale”
- For example
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“AI-generated “slop” music could replace human-made songs” — The Guardian
“built its entire business model on infringing copyrights at an unfathomable scale” — NBC News
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Explanatory, Q&A-style account of the claims, songs and relief sought, headlined on the dollar figure.
- Emphasis
- Venue, song list, damages arithmetic in dollars and dirhams, Busch's background, fair use, and that the case is untested.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the Guardian's precedent point or AI-slop context.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Presley's rights holders, led by Authentic Brands Group, sued Anthropic on Friday 23 October.
- The suit alleges 274 songs were used without permission to train Claude.
- The plaintiffs seek up to $150,000 per song, about $41.1m.
Where accounts differ
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Whether Anthropic infringed Presley's copyrights
- Left
- The complaint, as relayed by NBC and the Guardian, alleges willful infringement in training and outputs; NBC includes Anthropic's denial.
- Centre
- Reports the allegations and Anthropic's denial, noting no claims have been tested in court.
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The lawsuit alleges Anthropic infringed copyright in 274 Presley songs by using them to train Claude without permission.
Reported- Reports 3
- NBC News, The Guardian, Gulf News
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The plaintiffs seek statutory damages of up to $150,000 per song, about $41.1 million in total.
Reported- Reports 3
- NBC News, The Guardian, Gulf News
Authentic Brands Group organisation
Says it and the other Elvis plaintiffs are protective guardians of the catalogue and that Anthropic knowingly and willfully infringed, seeking damages, an injunction and destruction of copies.
“the Elvis Plaintiffs are guardians of, and highly protective of, Elvis’s song which are some of the most iconic of all time” — NBC News
Left3 articles
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Anthropic sued for allegedly using 274 Elvis Presley songs to train AI models
Neutral Reports the suit as a possible precedent for estates against AI firms, with context on AI music concerns.
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Elvis Presley’s rights holders sue Anthropic saying it trained AI on his music
Neutral Detailed account of the allegations and relief, with Anthropic's denial and the history of music and book suits.
Centre1 article
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Elvis's rights holders seek $41.1 million from Anthropic over songs used to train AI
Neutral Explainer-style report headlined on the damages sought, adding fair-use context and noting the case is untested.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 25 Oct 14:14 First The A.V. ClubLC Anthropic sued for allegedly stealing from The King
- 25 Oct 18:25 +4h 12m The GuardianLC Anthropic sued for allegedly using 274 Elvis Presley songs to train AI models
- 25 Oct 19:11 +4h 57m NBC NewsLC Elvis Presley’s rights holders sue Anthropic saying it trained AI on his music
- 26 Oct 07:27 +17h 13m Gulf NewsN Elvis's rights holders seek $41.1 million from Anthropic over songs used to train AI
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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