Independent music publisher Reservoir has gone to federal court against two AI companies. Suits filed on 21 October 2026 accuse Suno and Anthropic of copying its song catalogue to train their systems. Billboard says it reported the filings first, and names Richard Busch as the attorney acting for Reservoir.
“Suno's business model was admittedly and clearly: infringe now, make billions by being the first mover, and try to settle on the cheap later.”
Richard Busch, Reservoir's attorney, in the Suno complaint, in the Suno complaint · billboard.com ↗
The complaints point to specific songs, among them Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi", Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach", plus tracks by Glenn Miller, Kings of Leon and Evanescence. One trade headline puts the count at 1,050 songs, but Billboard's report gives no total, so that figure is unconfirmed here.
Reservoir argues both companies built their businesses on infringement at unprecedented scale. Of Suno, which charges $10 a month, it says the service was meant to replace artists rather than serve them, and that its recent openness toward the industry is an about-face. AI developers generally answer that training is transformative fair use. Neither Suno nor Anthropic had replied to requests for comment.
About Reservoir
Reservoir (Reservoir Media) is an independent music company based in New York City. Golnar Khosrowshahi founded it in 2007 as a music publisher and is its chief executive; its catalogue includes songs by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Sheryl Crow.
It went public on Nasdaq under the ticker RSVR on 29 July 2021, by merging with the blank-check company Roth CH Acquisition II and raising a $150 million private placement alongside the merger. At the listing it described itself as holding about 130,000 copyrights and 36,000 master recordings. Weeks before, in June 2021, it had bought the Tommy Boy label and its catalogue of more than 6,000 masters, in a deal reported at over $100 million.
The case joins a crowded docket. Suno settled with Warner Music Group last year and has since struck deals with BMG and Believe, while Universal and Sony keep suing. Smaller publishers such as Round Hill Music and groups of musicians have also filed against it, and Anthropic faces other music companies' suits. No hearing dates have been reported.
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