VCs dump $125M into new AI music platform — Can we all become beat makers?

Will we all soon be able to produce high-quality beats? VC investors seem to think this is the case as millions are poured into new AI music creation platform Suno.

A new platform that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to make music on command has captured the attention of venture capital investors.

On May 21, Suno announced that it has raised $125 million from investors, aiming to make beat-making accessible to everyone — or so it claims. The company stated that the funds would be used for product development and team expansion.

As a part of its funding announcement, Suno released an AI-generated song that it created for the occasion.

https://t.co/jxEa3tGcXX

— Suno (@suno_ai_) May 21, 2024

The platform’s first initial product launched eight months prior, and allowed users to make songs based on simple text prompts. At its current stage, users input text prompts based on their desired “song description” and can select whether they want it to include vocals or be purely instrumental.

Once the song is generated, it also generates album artwork and titles, all of which are customizable. Users can also alter the AI-generated lyrics with their own words and extend the initial track.

Cointelegraph tried out the tool using the prompt, “Make me a theme song for the publication Cointelegraph.” It naturally created a two-minute track with the tags “trap, energetic, upbeat” attached to the music style. 

When prompted to generate lyrics, it came up with a comprehensive text that had lines: “Blockchain came through and disrupted the scene/ Decentralized power, it’s a whole new regime/ The crypto industry, a wild beast untamed/ Cointelegraph on the frontline, never to be tamed.”

Suno claims that 10 million people have already made music using its platform including Grammy-winning artists. 

Related: Hollywood union deal with music giants guards against AI use

The platform is already picking up hype on social media, with one X user calling the new AI tool a “gift,” as she was able to create a song for her child. 

Despite the excitement, Suno is not the first platform on the web to allow users to create AI-generated music via text prompts. 

In summer 2023 Big Tech rivals Google and Meta, both currently developing high-performing AI models, released their own AI-generated music making platforms.

However, even in its free version, Suno can create tracks up to two minutes — compared to 30 seconds on Google’s MusicFX — with different sections in the songs and chord progressions, giving its tracks a more musical feel.

AI-generated music has sparked major controversy within the music industry over the last year, with companies like Universal Music and Sony taking a stand against developers to protect their artists’ copyrighted content.

The popular music YouTuber Rick Beato recently spoke with futurist Ted Gioia in a video about AI music flooding streaming platforms like Spotify, coining the term “ghost music,” as it fills up playlists and reaps streaming royalties.

Though musicians are still wary of AI, a survey last year revealed that over half of polled musicians were concerned about the audience’s perception of AI use.