Google says in a new court filing that YouTube’s terms of service grant a “broad license” for artificial intelligence models to be trained on music uploaded directly to the platform.

This argument came in Google’s Monday (June 8) motion to dismiss copyright infringement litigation filed earlier this year by a group of independent artists, songwriters and producers. The lawsuit claims that Lyria 3, the AI music model launched by Google in February, was trained on songs ripped from YouTube without compensating artists.

The case is among dozens that have accused AI companies of illegally training their models on copyrighted sound, text and images in recent years. In most of these lawsuits — including ones brought by the major record labels against AI music generators Suno and Udio — tech companies have argued that the so-called fair use principle of copyright law allows them to create transformative works without licensing the training data.

The Google case is different, though, because the tech giant owns YouTube, one of the biggest music streaming platforms in the world. Rather than making a fair use argument, Google’s lawyers say in Monday’s brief that they actually do have a license to train AI with the songs uploaded to YouTube by these indie artists.

“Their lawsuit is based on the unsupported hypothesis that Google trained on their specific works,” reads the motion, filed by powerhouse litigation firm Quinn Emanuel. “Even accepting their untested allegations as fact, the complaint cannot stand. Plaintiffs each granted YouTube, and Google — which provides the service — a broad license to use the uploaded content. That license, present in YouTube’s terms of service, authorized the conduct alleged in the complaint.”

Specifically, the motion cites a clause in YouTube’s terms of service that states, “By providing content to the service, you grant to YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use that content (including to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, display and perform it) in connection with the service and YouTube’s (and its successors’ and affiliates’) business.”

These terms of service govern all individual users who upload music directly to YouTube – meaning, if Google’s argument is accepted by the court, the company would be legally permitted to train AI models on and otherwise utilize that content for “derivative works.” However, the situation might be different for music distributed through YouTube pursuant to licensing agreements with labels and publishers.

All of the major music companies, as well as indie labels and publishers, have licensing deals with YouTube that govern copyright protection and royalty payouts. Whether AI training is permitted likely differs from license to license, depending on the grants around derivative works. Some companies have even added AI-specific language in recent years that sets forth rules for whether and how music on the platform can be used for Google’s AI initiatives.

For example, during the investor earnings call for Universal Music Group (UMG) this past October, CEO Lucian Grainge said the company’s renewed licensing deal with YouTube “secured really important guardrails and protection for our artists and writers around Gen AI content.”

Google has not explicitly disclosed what material was included in the Lyria 3 training dataset. In a statement to Billboard when the model was rolled out, a Google representative said it was trained on music that Google has “a right to use under our terms of service, partner agreements, and applicable law.”

A rep for Google declined on Tuesday (June 9) to comment beyond the court papers. The attorneys pursuing the Lyria 3 lawsuit did not immediately return a request for comment. They will file opposition papers fighting Google’s motion to dismiss the case in the coming weeks.

As a proposed class action, the lawsuit is aimed at eventually representing all indie artists who’ve allegedly been harmed by Google’s AI training. Its named plaintiffs are singer/songwriter Sam Kogon, composer/producer Magnus Fiennes, songwriter/producer Michael Mell, R&B group Attack the Sound, father-and-son folk rock duo Stan Burjek and James Burjek, and the Chicago-based band Directrix.

This same group previously brought similar copyright lawsuits against AI music companies Suno, Udio and Mureka. The more closely watched front in the AI music copyright war, though, is litigation launched in 2024 by UMG, Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony alleging Suno and Udio infringed their IP “at an almost unimaginable scale.”

UMG and WMG both settled with Udio in the fall, striking deals for the company to train a new model on licensed work that will remain within a “walled garden” on the platform. WMG later settled with Suno as well, agreeing to a licensed training model that allows for off-platform distribution. UMG is still suing Suno, and Sony has not settled with either company.

Wynonna will release her first solo album in a decade this fall, when her album The Hard Truth releases Oct. 2 via ANTI- Records.

This album will mark her first time co-writing a project and will welcome fellow artists and storytellers Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), The War and Treaty, and Iron & Wine.

“I’ve spent a lifetime singing about heartbreak, healing, faith, and survival, but I’ve never made a record like this one,” Wynonna said in a statement about the album. “These songs tell the truth about where I’ve been, what I’ve lost, what I’ve overcome, and who I’ve become. This album asked me to be brave enough to tell the truth—even when my voice shook. It challenged me to let go of perfectionism and embrace the beauty of honest emotion. My hope is that when you hear these songs, you feel what I was feeling while writing and recording them. If they help someone feel seen, understood, or a little less alone, then every hard truth was worth telling.”

Wynonna worked with her husband, producer/musician Cactus Moser, to create the project’s songs.

“Being a part of this record, and helping bring these songs to life as its producer, has been the most important work I’ve known,” Moser said in a statement. “We started with nothing but a feeling and emotion and ended up with an entire album that captures Wynonna’s story with a level of honesty she’s never experienced in her career. It’s the kind of record that makes a difference and reminds you why music exists in the first place.” 

The album’s lead single, “Kentucky Queen,” finds Wynonna singing of forging triumph from dark times, while also reclaiming her home state. Wynonna wrote the song with Moser, Sarah Siskind and Justin Weaver.

This summer, Wynonna will be on a co-headlining tour with Melissa Etheridge and will also lead a mini-tour of Kentucky shows, including a concert in Wynonna’s hometown of Ashland.

See the track list for Wynonna’s album The Hard Truth below:

1. “Prelude (All Downhill From Ashland)”
2. “All Downhill From Ashland”
3. “Everything” (feat. Patterson Hood)
4. “Am I Missing Out”
5. “Broken And Blessed”
6. “Hear Me Now” (feat. Iron & Wine)
7. “The Hopeful Lie” (feat. The War And Treaty)
8. “Kentucky Queen”
9. “Girl Who Could Sing”
10. “Drive”
11. “Love Ain’t Got The Best Of Me”

Ma$e disagrees with his fellow New Yorker Jennifer Lopez about who can claim to be from the Empire State.

J.Lo found herself in some controversy after a recent appearance on the social media video series Subway Takes when she said you can’t say you’re from New York City if you weren’t born there. “You have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker,” she said. “Yes, I know everybody wants to claim the city. Everybody wants to claim our city, but you have to be born in New York. You have to be born in one of the five boroughs to be a New Yorker.”

Ma$e, who was born in Jacksonville, Florida, gave his take earlier Tuesday (June 9) on an episode of It Is What It Is after being asked what’s the definition of a New Yorker by his co-host Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson.

“You would ask me this because I’m not born in New York, but I lived my whole life there, so according to J.Lo, Harlem World is a fake,” he replied with a laugh, name-dropping his 1997 debut album. “I don’t know how to feel about that. I think if you didn’t go to kindergarten there, if you didn’t go to elementary there, but if you’ve been there since kindergarten all the way through high school, at what point do you say a person is not from there?”

He added: “If they didn’t go to high school there then they’re definitely not from there. But if you been there since kindergarten, pre-K, all the way through college, where you from then? I see what she’s trying to say, but I’m definitely from where I’m from.”

So…what’s your take?

You can watch the full episode below.

Booking agency CAA has signed Florida Georgia Line to its roster.

Composed of Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, the duo, known for smash hits like “This Is How We Roll” and the RIAA Diamond-certified hit “Cruise,” recently reunited onstage during CMA Fest after taking a hiatus beginning in 2022. Florida Georgia Line’s CMA Fest appearance was a surprise that saw the duo performing songs including “Cruise” on the Nissan Stadium stage. They also played a full set at Spotify House during the festival.

“CMA Fest, it feels so good to be here with my brother,” Hubbard said from during their appearance at the festival. “And listen, we got three things we want to say tonight. First of all, God is good. Second of all, life is short. And most importantly, your boys … we back, baby!” Earlier this year, the duo made a brief surprise performance as part of an event honoring Jason Aldean during the annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.

Since launching with “Cruise” in 2012, Florida Georgia Line has notched 16 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart as well as six No. 1 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart.

The duo’s signing to CAA follows the recent announcement that they signed with The Core Entertainment’s Simon Tikhman and Chief Zaruk for management. The Core also manages Nickelback, Nate Smith, Bailey Zimmerman and Dan + Shay.

Though there is no word on new music from the duo (Florida Georgia Line’s most recent album, Life Rolls On, was released in 2021), the CAA signing serves as another indicator that fans could very well see the duo playing shows again soon.