WE NEED TO ACT NOW.

The bottom line is this: if big labels start using AI to make endless music they own completely — and they also have influence over what gets pushed on streaming platforms — then real artists don’t stand a chance. You can’t compete with a machine that costs nothing to run and a system that can quietly boost its own songs over yours.

This isn’t a theory. You can already see the pieces being set up. You can already see how fast AI music is improving. And you can already see how shaky the income is for anyone trying to make a living from music today.

That’s why this moment matters. Not in a dramatic, “save the artform” way — but in a practical one. We have a very small window where rules can still be put in place before the whole industry gets reorganized around corporate-owned AI tracks.

If companies want these tools, fine. But they shouldn’t get to use them to bury human artists or cut everyone else out of the economy. There needs to be transparency, limits, and some kind of basic fairness so musicians aren’t competing in a rigged game.

This isn’t about stopping technology. It’s about stopping a business model that quietly squeezes out the people who actually make music.

That’s it. No grand conclusion. Just the reality in front of us. The stakes are obvious once you see how the system works.

Filing a Complaint with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

Step-by-Step

  1. Go to: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
    (Yes — even though it says “fraud,” this is where all competition complaints start; the FTC routes them internally.)

  2. Click “Report Now.”

  3. When asked for the category, choose:

    • “Something else”

    • Then specify: “Potential anticompetitive behavior” or “Concern about business practices”

  4. In the text box, paste a version of the antitrust summary below.

  5. Provide your contact info (optional but recommended — they may follow up if they open an inquiry).

  6. Submit.

Filing with the DOJ Antitrust Division

Step-by-Step

  1. Go to:
    https://www.justice.gov/atr/antitrust-complaint

  2. Scroll to “Submit a Complaint” and click “File an Antitrust Complaint.”

  3. You’ll be taken to a direct form.

  4. Choose:

    • “Anticompetitive behavior by a company”

    • (Optionally specify: "concerns about vertical integration in the music industry")

  5. Paste the antitrust summary below.
    Keep it concise: 3–4 paragraphs is perfect.

  6. Add any professional credentials (e.g., "I am a recording engineer/producer…"), which helps establish expertise.

  7. Submit.

Your Attorney General also cares about anticompetitive behavior.

  1. Go to: “[Your State] Attorney General Consumer Protection"

  2. File: “Concern about unfair business practices / anticompetitive activity.”

Multiple state AGs filing joint inquiries often pressure the FTC/DOJ into action.

You can copy and paste everything after the summary below. Please use your own summary!

To:
Federal Trade Commission – Bureau of Competition
Department of Justice – Antitrust Division

Subject: Request for Investigation: Potential Anticompetitive Conduct and Unfair Business Practices in Label + AI Music Partnership

Summary:

I am submitting this complaint as a working recording engineer, producer, and mastering engineer with nearly 25 years of professional experience in the music industry. My concern is not speculative. It is based on direct, ongoing engagement with the economic realities of independent musicians, songwriters, and engineers who rely on fair access to distribution and discovery platforms in order to sustain a career.

I believe the developing partnership between Warner Music Group (WMG) and the AI music-generation platform Suno represents a clear risk of unlawful vertical integration and market foreclosure, with the potential to significantly distort competition in the U.S. music industry.

1. Vertical Integration: Control of Both Supply and Distribution Leverage

WMG’s core assets include:

  • ownership/control of a large catalog of copyrighted sound recordings

  • financial leverage over distribution channels (playlisting arrangements, promotion agreements, revenue-share structures with major streaming platforms)

Through Suno, WMG gains the ability to:

  • generate synthetic artists and recordings at effectively zero marginal cost,

  • own 100% of the resulting masters,

  • scale output to volumes impossible for human creators,

  • and then influence which recordings receive visibility via playlisting and algorithmic promotion.

This combination of upstream control (music generation) and downstream influence (distribution) raises classical antitrust concerns under the Sherman Act and Clayton Act regarding preferential treatment, discriminatory access, and foreclosure of rival content.

2. Risk of Market Foreclosure Against Independent Musicians

Independent musicians and small labels rely extensively on algorithmic playlists for discovery. If WMG is able to:

  • fill playlists with AI-generated recordings it fully owns,

  • influence or negotiate preferential placement on those playlists,

  • or engage in self-preferential promotion via algorithmic recommendation systems,

then independent creators lose competitive access to the primary distribution channels of the modern music economy. This constitutes exclusionary conduct and foreclosure of market access, even if no explicit collusion occurs.

3. Possible Collusive Use of Copyrighted Training Data

There is significant uncertainty around the training data used by Suno. If WMG supplies copyrighted recordings it owns — or allows access to them — for model training, Suno gains competitive advantage not available to independent creators.

This raises concerns under:

  • Section 5 of the FTC Act (unfair or deceptive acts),

  • Sherman Act Section 1 (agreements restraining trade),

  • and the broader inquiry into AI systems trained on copyrighted works without consent.

This also creates a vertically integrated loop in which WMG’s catalog enables the creation of derivative works that WMG then owns outright, depriving human creators of competitive standing.

4. Zero Marginal Cost Advantage and Market Distortion

AI-generated recordings can be produced in unlimited quantity at zero or near-zero cost. Combined with WMG’s existing market power, this gives the company an unprecedented ability to:

  • oversaturate distribution channels

  • displace human-created works

  • manipulate supply in ways not available to any rival

  • reduce compensation opportunities for songwriters, performers, engineers, and producers

This is a fundamental distortion of competitive market structure and deserves formal review.

5. Basis for an Antitrust Investigation

Taken together, these behaviors meet the threshold for examination under:

  • Sherman Act Sections 1 & 2

  • Clayton Act Section 7 (vertical merger review principles)

  • FTC Act Section 5 (unfair competition)

The WMG–Suno partnership may be creating:

  • an anticompetitive closed loop controlling both content creation and distribution,

  • discriminatory access to essential promotional infrastructure,

  • and systemic economic harm to independent creators and small businesses.

An investigation is urgently needed to determine whether this integration threatens competition, consumer choice, and the viability of human creative labor.

Sincerely,
[Name]
[Professional Affiliation (optional)]
[City, State]
[Contact Email]