What is Suno? The ‘ChatGPT for music’ generates songs in seconds

From ZD Net:

Several text-to-music generators are now on the market, including offerings from Meta and Google. However, the Suno AI music generator is becoming increasingly popular — likely because it creates original lyrics and vocals, and because it leverages the power of ChatGPT.

So, what is Suno and how does it work?

Suno is an AI music generator that generates a song with original lyrics and beats from a text prompt. The tool can be accessed via its free standalone website or via Microsoft Copilot by enabling Suno’s third-party plug-in.

What makes Suno stand out from other music-generating models? In addition to creating the music, which you can do with Meta’s AudioCraft and Google’s MusicFX, Suno also produces original lyrics and vocals. This is a reflection of the company’s mission to help everyone create music, regardless of background or musical knowledge.

“Whether you’re a shower singer or a charting artist, we break barriers between you and the song you dream of making,” Suno says on its website. Suno’s intuitive interface makes it easy to use, and the only requirement is you need to create a free account.

How does Suno work?

In Rolling Stone’s deep dive into Suno and its potential impact on the music business, the AI startup explained that Suno uses its own AI models to generate the music and then relies on ChatGPT to create the song’s title and lyrics.

If you have ever used ChatGPT, you know it’s capable of generating great text outputs, such as essays, thanks to its advanced natural language processing. The fact that Suno uses ChatGPT should tell you all you need to know about its text quality output.

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Who owns songs made with Suno?

The emergence of AI music generators has alarmed music labels and artists because of how easy it is to create music that uses artists’ voices without their consent. How is Suno navigating this copyright issue?

According to the Rolling Stone report, Suno refuses to generate any music in the style of real artists’ voices. 

Since all the music generated is original and not lifted from other artists’ work, paying subscribers own the songs generated by Suno, as well as the artwork that accompanies the songs. However, Suno retains all ownership of songs created by free users, as well as the artwork.

As a result, if you are a paying subscriber, you can use the music you generate for commercial use, including posting the songs on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Music. Free users can only post on social media with attribution and are not allowed to use the songs commercially. Regardless of which version you use, if you input your own lyrics, you retain ownership of those.

Are the songs subject to copyright protection? Here’s what Suno says on its website:

“The availability and scope of copyright protection for content generated (in whole or in part) using artificial intelligence is a complex and dynamic area of law, which is rapidly evolving and varies among countries. We encourage you 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.”

Link to the rest at ZD Net

PG decided to see how Suno could help people to remember that they should read and understand a contract before they sign it. So he headed over to the site and entered his prompt about reading contracts.

He chose Synthpop Upbeat for the song style. The song was created very quickly, far faster than AI text generators he’s tried.

From Suno

In the Fine Print

Lyrics (generated by Suno):

[Verse]
Every time before I put my name on that line
I gotta make sure it's all clear, no hidden design (design)
They say it's just a formality, nothing to fear
But baby, I've learned the hard way, gotta be sincere

[Verse 2]
Pages and pages of words that they want me to agree
But I won't be caught in a trap, I gotta be free (be free)
They may try to rush me, put pressure on my soul
But I won't be fooled, gotta maintain control

[Chorus]
In the fine print, secrets lie
Gotta read between the lines, oh, oh (oh, oh)
In the fine print, don't be blind
Take your time, don't let them blow your mind (oh, oh)

Here’s a link to PG’s Song on Suno- In the Fine Print