After sparking controversy last year by claiming that making music is not enjoyable, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman has now clarified his stance.
A comment revisited
Last year, Suno CEO Mikey Shulman stirred up controversy in the conversation around AI-generated music. During an interview on The Twenty Minute VC podcast, Shulman made a remark that quickly spread across the industry, by claiming that “the majority of people don’t enjoy the majority of the time they spend making music”.
At the time, Shulman was referring to the difficulty and time required to learn instruments, software, and make music. From his perspective, defending Suno as it lets people generate songs without putting in years of work.
Now, nearly 13 months later, Shulman appears to be walking back on those comments. In a recent Billboard interview, he acknowledged that his wording missed the mark. Reflecting on the earlier quote, Shulman said:
“I really wish I had chosen different words… I do have a lot of respect for music.”
His stance on AI training hasn’t changed
While Shulman may regret his earlier phrasing, his stance on AI training remains unchanged.
The talking point in the AI music debate usually centres around how generative models are trained, often using copyrighted material without permission. Suno even previously admitted to doing so. Still, Shulman continues to maintain the position that training AI models on copyrighted work falls under “fair use”.
That stance is particularly significant given the legal battles currently unfolding in the industry, and Suno’s licensing deal. At first, major labels began filing lawsuits against AI music platforms, including Suno, for copyright infringement. Since then, the landscape has started to shift. Suno recently reached a licensing agreement with Warner Music Group, resolving WMG’s side of the lawsuit in the process. Still, Shulman believes that while “the major labels are very important,” Suno’s original course of action was entirely legal.
Instead, Shulman frames the deal less as a settlement and more as the beginning of a long term partnership.
A more collaborative future ahead?
As more licensing agreements pop up between AI music generators and rightsholders, it could serve as the blueprint for how AI music companies move forward in a legal manner. Instead of remaining locked in legal battles, licensing agreements could provide a framework for compensation and control between tech companies and rights holders.
The signs are promising too, with Suno receiving a $2 billion valuation at the back-end of last year. There couldn’t really be a greater sign of the confidence and interest in AI-generated music platforms.
For now, Shulman’s clarifications are just one small piece of the AI music story. They serve as a reminder that the relationship between AI companies and musicians is still being defined in real time, and the conversation isn’t going away any time soon.
Distribute your music to streaming platforms for free with RouteNote today!