Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly broadened the scope for anyone to do and become anything. From web developers and graphic designers to authors, many people these days, are exploring the possibilities of this new technology. The latest software, Suno AI, is supposedly helping people realize their rockstar dreams by making music creation accessible to everyone. In March, it released version 3, enabling people to create full, two-minute songs.
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What is Suno AI?
Suno positions itself as an AI-powered tool turning ideas into fully realized songs while democratizing music production for people of all skill levels. The tool was developed by Anthropic, a firm that engineers secure AI technologies. The American startup company was reportedly founded by former members of OpenAI.
According to its website, the team consists of musicians and AI experts based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Personnel have come from places such as Meta, TikTok and Kensho, where the founding team worked together before starting Suno. The co-founders are Mikey Shulman, Georg Kucsko, Martin Camacho, and Keenan Freyberg.
Suno, meaning “listen” in Hindi, has been widely used since December 2023 after the launch of a web application and a partnership with Microsoft, which included Suno as a plugin in Microsoft Copilot. The startup has only been going since 2022 and has secured over $224 million in funding through 58 rounds, with participation from 135 investors, as reported by Dataconomy.
The partnership between Suno and Microsoft is significant, especially as leading tech giants like Meta and Google intensify their focus on consumer AI audio-generation technologies, often collaborating with niche music-tech enterprises. In a statement on Microsoft’s website, it said: “Through this partnership, people will have at their fingertips the ability, regardless of musical background, to create fun, clever, and personalized songs with a simple prompt.”
Although creating new songs in the style of a specific artist might be “very cool and very interesting,” Suno’s CEO, Shulman, told Axios that he doesn’t believe such an experience will remain enjoyable for consumers over the long term.
“Most people don’t play an instrument or know complicated software, which up until now have been barriers to making beautiful music. Vocal music is [also] a really important ingredient in that, and it’s one of [Suno’s] differentiators.”
Is Suno AI free?
Suno AI offers a free plan in addition to pro and premier plans. The free plan provides 50 credits a day, equivalent to 10 songs, whereas the pro membership offers 2,500 credits per month or 500 songs. The premier plan includes 10,000 credits, or 2,000 songs, renewing monthly. The pro plan costs $8 per month, and the premier plan is $24 per month, with both plans billed annually.
A major difference between the free and paid tiers is that Suno AI retains the copyright of tunes created with the free plan, while users hold the rights for songs created with the paid plans. Creators also have the option to purchase extra credits. While the free plan allows for running two jobs simultaneously, the paid plans can run ten tasks at the same time.
The app is said to distinguish itself by offering complete songs that feature vocals and customization options, simplifying and enhancing the music-making process for everyone. It represents a glimpse into the future of musical innovation, where AI and human creativity come together to create new melodies. Regardless of one’s experience level, from hobbyist to professional, Suno says it gives people a chance to experiment with music creation.
The new version, released on March 21, is reported to have better audio quality, more styles and genres, as well as improved prompt adherence including fewer hallucinations and more graceful endings.
Is Suno AI legal and who owns the rights to the music?
Shulman says the company wants to produce music legally and ethically, hence it prevents users from uploading other music as samples and pasting lyrics from someone else.
As a result, when typing in a query that includes an existing band name, such as “Write me a Radiohead song about AI,” the app denies the request and displays the following message: “Couldn’t generate that. Song description contained artist name: Radiohead.”
The co-founder also added that even if the model doesn’t recognize a name, “we wouldn’t want to infringe on his likeness.”
Regardless of the version of Suno used, users retain all ownership and rights to any original content they create and input into Suno including lyrics. Similarly, paying subscribers to Suno own the artwork that accompanies the songs they generate, subject to their compliance with Suno’s Terms of Service.
The website issues a disclaimer in terms of AI-generated images: “Remember that the nature of machine learning means that output may not be unique for every Suno user, especially if those users enter the same or similar prompts into Suno, and therefore the artwork generated for other Suno users’ songs may be similar or identical to the artwork generated for your songs.”
Another important aspect it raises is the fact that users may not have comprehensive copyright protection, hence it suggests members to “consult a qualified attorney to advise you about the latest development and the degree of copyright protection available for the output you generate using Suno.”
