AI: The Well-Kept Secret of the Transforming Music Industry

AI, an Ubiquitous Yet Discreet Tool in Music

According to a study by Rolling Stone, leading producers and songwriters are already extensively using AI music generators in their creative processes but remain silent about it for fear of negative public reaction. The shift is particularly pronounced in hip-hop: according to producer Young Guru, long-time sound engineer for Jay-Z, more than half of sample-based hip-hop now relies on retro samples generated by AI rather than licensed original recordings.

While established songwriters benefit from the speed—finished demos now take minutes instead of hours—session musicians, studio assistants, and secondary songwriters are increasingly losing their livelihoods. AI generators are rapidly spreading in professional music production, but the industry prefers not to discuss it, according to the in-depth study by Rolling Stone.

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman told The Guardian earlier this year that people describe his own tool as "the Ozempic of the music industry—everyone's using it, and no one wants to talk about it." This strict "don't ask, don't tell" mentality has become the norm among leading producers and songwriters, according to the study. They use the technology extensively but remain publicly silent for fear of repercussions. The case of singer Teddy Swims, who faced backlash after admitting to using AI, serves as a warning.

The Impact on Music Professionals

Producer David Baron is convinced that AI-generated music has already reached the Billboard charts, according to the report. Lauren Christy, a songwriter who has written for Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears, states bluntly: "The train has left the station." Major record labels do not have functional software to reliably detect AI-generated music. Instead, the industry operates on a simple "honor system," which is part of the problem.

The change is particularly striking in hip-hop. Instead of licensing actual soul recordings from the 60s or 70s or hiring studio musicians, producers are using AI to generate fictional retro samples. Young Guru estimates that "more than half" of sample-based hip-hop is now created this way.

The quality of AI-generated vocals has reached a level that even professionals find unsettling. Christy describes a singer who reacted with frustration after hearing an AI-generated demo: "I hate that robot. She sings better than I do."

The Adoption of AI by Creators

A survey conducted among over 1,100 producers, engineers, and songwriters by Sonarworks revealed that seven out of ten respondents experiment with AI tools at least occasionally, with one in five using them regularly. Most rely on this technology for specific time-saving tasks, such as audio restoration, track separation, and mastering. Even sound matching, the process of transferring the sonic character of a reference recording to one's own mix, now takes minutes instead of hours or days.

The speed at which AI can deliver a finished demo fundamentally changes how music is produced. According to the study, Christy received a message from a "big star" looking for new songs. She fed her lyrics and chords into an AI and sent back a polished demo almost immediately. The star wanted to record it.

Scenarios like this create new opportunities for established songwriters, but the market for others is collapsing. Session musicians who used to record demos and studio assistants are getting fewer gigs, according to Rolling Stone. The market for stock and production music, used in smaller television productions, is also practically "dead."

The Consequences for the Music Market

Michelle Lewis, a songwriter who has worked for Cher and Hilary Duff, and co-founder of the advocacy group Songwriters of North America (SONA), states that songwriters in Nashville and Los Angeles are using tools like Suno to generate fully arranged demos from lyrics and chords. "Privately, songwriters say, 'This is pretty cool,'" says Lewis. "You don't have to share your royalties; you can write alone; and you don't have to pay a producer. For many songwriters, this has been very empowering." Lewis, who also works in children's animation, describes this market as "low-hanging fruit" for AI replacements. Overall, "no one is working."

The Ongoing Legal and Ethical Challenges

The legal situation is still chaotic. To begin with, it is not even clear whether the music generators themselves are legal. Market leader Suno is currently embroiled in copyright litigation but has already announced plans to work more closely with the music industry as it rolls out even more advanced models later this year.

Suno 5.5, which has just launched, offers impressive quality and allows users to incorporate their own voice into songs for the first time. An investor from Suno recently admitted that the music generator is in direct competition with human music. This is a significant admission, as it could undermine the company's fair use defense in court.

Google is already offering its own music generator, emphasizing that Lyria 3 was trained solely on content that Google had permission to use. OpenAI apparently planned to follow suit with its own music tool, although after the company's recent strategic shift and decision to discontinue Sora, this now seems less likely.

Then there’s the question of ownership. Artists are still unsure whether AI-generated content, whether text, images, or sound, can even be protected by copyright. An AI-generated song without copyright protection would be worthless. For AI-generated samples in particular, there is the additional question of whether the production meets the required threshold of creativity for protection. So far, regulators and copyright offices have decided this on a case-by-case basis, primarily ruling against AI.