Suno is forging on with significant product updates amid an ongoing copyright infringement battle with major record companies.
Today (September 25), the AI music platform has unveiled its own generative digital audio workstation (DAW), which is targeted at professional songwriters, producers, and engineers as well as aspiring artists.
The new DAW, called Suno Studio, combines the company’s AI music generation technology with professional multi-track editing tools, allowing users to create instrumental stems, arrange compositions and export audio files.
The platform supports uploads of existing audio samples, Suno said on Thursday (September 25).
The launch follows Suno’s release this week of v5, its updated AI music model that the company describes as its “most advanced music model yet.” According to Suno, the new version offers “composes like a musician, adapts like a collaborator, and creates like never before”.
The $500 million-valued company has been quietly testing the new DAW software with artists over recent weeks. Grammy-winning producer Om’Mas Keith, known for his work with Frank Ocean and Jay-Z, participated in a three-day creation session at Shangri-La studios.
He said: “The music creation camp I did with Suno at Shangri-La was a high-profile art meets science experiment.”
“For three days, we explored the frontier of harnessing new technology, weaving it into every layer of songwriting, production, and live recording. With seemingly limitless sounds and textures at hand, we were able to iterate with unprecedented speed and efficiency. My curation of masterful Creators ensured human touch and rigorous quality control – the very elements required for timeless recordings.”
“The process didn’t just expand our toolkit; it unlocked innumerable possibilities, injecting our sessions with clarity, optimism, and a sharper vision for every final work. It felt like we were mapping the future while never losing the groove.”
“The process didn’t just expand our toolkit; it unlocked innumerable possibilities, injecting our sessions with clarity, optimism, and a sharper vision for every final work.”
Om’Mas Keith, Producer
Suno Co-Founder and CEO Mikey Shulman described the developments as part of a broader transformation in music production. “We’re witnessing a paradigm shift taking place in studios right now as AI becomes a part of more artists’ creative process.”
He added: “Studio was built to expand the toolkit for musicians; it intentionally does not prescribe workflows so that human talent can remain front and center. What’s been most inspiring for us is putting the technology in the hands of artists and watching them experiment with what’s possible, all with their creativity, knowledge and talent remaining in the driver’s seat.”
Suno Studio includes features for generating musical elements like drums, vocals, and synthesizers that match existing audio tracks. Users can control BPM, volume, pitch and more.
“Studio was built to expand the toolkit for musicians; it intentionally does not prescribe workflows so that human talent can remain front and center.”
Mikey Shulman, Suno
The platform builds on Suno’s recent acquisition of WavTool, a browser-based digital audio workstation that incorporates AI features including stem separation and automated MIDI generation. The acquisition was announced on June 26, a day after Suno rival Udio released a visual editing workstation for AI-generated music.
Paul Sinclair, Chief Music Officer at Suno, said: “Every artist, producer, songwriter or engineer that’s exploring Suno Studio is having these beautiful ‘ah-ha’ moments, and we’re seeing firsthand how eager they are to create more.”
“It’s truly an imagination engine that is unlocking new possibilities even our team hasn’t yet dreamed up. We’re beyond excited to get Suno Studio in the hands of creatives with today’s launch, whether they’re a veteran songwriter, producer, or making their first track.”
The product launch comes as Suno confronts growing legal pressure from the music industry.
Major record labels recently filed an amended complaint alleging the company engaged in “stream-ripping” to obtain copyrighted music for training its AI models. The labels claim Suno downloaded protected recordings from platforms like YouTube without permission.
“Every artist, producer, songwriter or engineer that’s exploring Suno Studio is having these beautiful ‘ah-ha’ moments, and we’re seeing firsthand how eager they are to create more.”
Paul Sinclair, Suno
A separate class-action lawsuit led by independent country artist Tony Justice also expanded its allegations Monday (September 22), with similar stream-ripping claims. The litigation threatens to complicate Suno’s expansion into the DAW market.
Suno Studio launches in beta for users with Premier Plan subscriptions, which had previously been waitlisted. The company hinted at additional features rolling out in the coming months.
Music Business Worldwide
