A few days ago, the great Mary J. Blige appeared in a Suno advertisement, and the internet did not react well. The ad circulated in various edited forms, each seemingly stripping away context from a video designed to look like a candid studio session, in which Blige was shown all the wild things you could do with Suno. The video’s circulation coincided with the release of Suno Studio 2.0. Now, the ad has been taken down after Suno said that Blige had never officially authorized the campaign.
According to Variety, Suno was duped into working with someone who falsely presented themselves as Blige’s official representative. In a statement, the company said: "We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative. As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign."
Blige hasn't released a statement about the debacle. It's unclear how any of this happened or who the imposter is that misled Suno and seemingly tarnished Blige's current internet aura.
This is the latest chapter in Suno's controversial and incredibly messy rise. The company is currently facing several copyright infringement lawsuits. New ones popped up this week on behalf of the Regional Mexican music company Gerencia 360 Music, and a group of songwriters headlined by Jason Isbell. Meanwhile the Canadian performance rights nonprofit SOCAN presented evidence of direct song ripoffs generated by Suno in court.
