Artificial intelligence in audio production has gone from curiosity to industrial reality in under two years. But between the RIAA lawsuits against Suno and Udio and licensing deals with major labels, the landscape is anything but simple.
State of the art: AI tools in 2026
- Full-song generation – Suno and Udio generate complete tracks from text prompts. Quality is impressive but creative control remains limited
- Stem separation – Moises and LALAL.AI isolate vocals, drums, bass from any track with impressive precision. A daily tool in our studio
- Automated mastering – LANDR and iZotope Ozone offer accessible AI mastering, though the best results still come from a human ear that understands the project’s context
- Dolby Atmos AI-assisted – Immersive audio workflows are now accessible to independent producers
The copyright question
In June 2024 the RIAA (Sony, UMG, Warner) sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. By late 2025, UMG reached an agreement with Udio for licensed training data usage. The message for professionals is clear: generative AI without licensing is a legal minefield.
How we use AI in our studio
Our approach is pragmatic: AI is a production assistant, not a creative substitute. We integrate it through noise reduction and cleanup (iZotope RX), stem separation, reference analysis and rapid prototyping for client presentations – then rework everything by hand.
What AI cannot do – and what justifies professional value – is make artistic decisions within a narrative context, manage the emotional dynamics of a mix, create believable foley, and communicate with clients to translate a vision into sound.
The future: augmented human expertise
As Entrepreneur wrote, AI is changing music production but cannot fill the void of human creativity. Professionals who integrate AI into their workflows – without delegating creative decisions – will have an enormous competitive advantage.
In our studio, the philosophy is simple: strategy, sound, system. AI is part of the system. The sound remains ours.
Sources:
• AI Copyright Lawsuit Developments 2025 – Copyright Alliance
• Suno/Udio Licensing Deals – Billboard
• AI Music Industry Trends 2026 – Soundverse
• AI and Music Production – Entrepreneur