Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have received court permission to question former Menlo Ventures principal C.C. Gong about a deleted social-media post describing her shift from Spotify to Suno. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson granted the request on October 26 in the labels’ Massachusetts copyright lawsuit, allowing a deposition within 30 days. In their October 23 motion, UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Sony argued that Gong’s account could provide evidence about whether Suno displaces listening to their recordings. Gong previously worked for Menlo Ventures, a Suno investor. The labels initially sought testimony from the firm before pursuing Gong individually.
The motion says Menlo disclosed on October 12 that Gong had left the firm at the end of September, prompting the labels to seek permission for testimony after the relevant discovery deadline. Suno did not oppose the request, while preserving objections that Gong or Menlo might raise. The dispute concerns the market-effects component of fair use, which examines potential harm to copyrighted works alongside three other statutory factors. Permission to take testimony does not establish that Suno caused royalty losses or infringed copyright. Gong’s account may contribute to the evidence, but it does not by itself quantify industry-wide listening displacement or determine whether Suno’s use of recordings qualifies as fair use.
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