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The labels sued Suno and Udio for stealing from artists — then settled, licensed their catalogs to those same AI companies, and (says the union) kept the money. Barry Neil Shrum and Dennis Disney break down the American Federation of Musicians’ federal lawsuit against Warner and Universal: the 1940s-vintage “new use” rule in the Sound Recording Labor Agreement, why licensing masters into an AI training set may trigger it, and why the session players who built the Nashville Sound — the A-Team — could be owed both pay and credit. Plus the labels’ brand-new motion to dismiss — their argument that the new-use clause “cannot function” without a pre-set AI rate, the union’s answer that there’s no arbitration clause so it had to sue, and why Barry thinks the labels’ “no rate, no breach” theory may prove the union’s point. Compared with last week’s Gavel Drop, GEMA’s copyright win over Suno in Munich, and where the U.S. Suno case in Boston stands. General information, not legal advice.

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The AI copyright war isn't just an American story. In this Music Row Dealmakers special Gavel Drop episode, entertainment attorney Barry Neil Shrum breaks down two landmark November 2025 European rulings that went in opposite directions — and what they signal for the music you make.

We cover:
• Munich's GEMA v. OpenAI — the first major European ruling holding an AI developer liable for memorizing and reproducing song lyrics
• London's Getty v. Stability AI — an AI-company win that turned on jurisdiction, not a broad blessing of AI training
• Why the two systems split — and why Europe has no U.S.-style fair use
• The EU AI Act's training-data disclosure rules and why they're a game-changer
• My forecast for the GEMA v. Suno case and a widening transatlantic gap

This is general information, not legal advice.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome
01:30 Why borders matter for your rights
02:15 Munich: GEMA beats OpenAI
04:00 London: Getty vs. Stability
05:30 Why the two split
06:45 The EU AI Act game-changer
08:00 Predicting GEMA v. Suno
09:15 Takeaways + wrap

Questions? Call 877-7-DEALMAKERS or email questions@musicrowdealmakers.com
All episodes: https://musicrowdealmakers.com

YouTube @MUSICROWDEALMAKERS

Our firm: https://ShrumDisney.com

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GEMA v OpenAI, AI copyright, AI music lawsuit, ChatGPT lyrics, EU copyright, Munich Regional Court, Getty v Stability, Stable Diffusion, EU AI Act, text and data mining, Suno lawsuit, GEMA v Suno, fair use, music law, entertainment law, copyright infringement, Barry Neil Shrum, Music Row Dealmakers, Gavel Drop, music publishing, songwriter rights, AI and music, transatlantic copyright

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Dealmaker Barry Neil Shrum address songwriters regarding the US Copyright Royalty Board's recent publication of a proposed settlement that would establish mechanical royalty rates for physical music, permanent downloads, ringtones, and music bundles in the United States from 2028 through 2032. It leaves in place the existing rate structure through 2032, with annual adjustments in line with the CPI for inflation. The Board is now accepting comments and objections on the proposal, which are due by August 10, according to a notice in the Federal Register.

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