You no longer need a studio, instruments, or music theory to create original tracks. AI music tools can generate full songs from a text prompt, clone voices, and produce royalty-free backing tracks in seconds. This category is moving faster than almost any other in AI - tools that were state-of-the-art six months ago are already being surpassed.
Output quality and originality
Does the music sound generic and repetitive, or genuinely musical? Test with prompts from your actual genre. Some tools excel at ambient and EDM; others handle vocals and lyrics better.
Royalty and licensing terms
For commercial use, you must understand who owns the output. Some tools grant full commercial rights; others retain a license or require attribution. Check before monetizing anything.
Customization controls
Can you control tempo, key, instrumentation, and mood separately? Or are you at the mercy of a prompt? Granular controls make the difference between usable and frustrating.
DAW integration
If you're a working producer, does it export stems? Does it integrate with Ableton or Logic? Standalone tools are fine for non-musicians; producers need professional export options.
This varies by jurisdiction and is still being settled in courts. In the US, the Copyright Office has indicated that purely AI-generated works (with no human creative input) cannot be registered. When a human makes meaningful creative choices in the process, some protection may apply. Check current guidance before relying on copyright for AI music.
For background music, video game soundtracks, and ad underscore, AI tools are already cost-competitive with licensing stock music. For recordings featuring named artists, live events, or emotionally specific compositions, human musicians still command a premium.
Suno and Udio are the most capable for generating full songs from text prompts. For royalty-free background music specifically, Mubert and Soundraw are built for that use case and integrate directly with video editing workflows.
