Suno CEO Reveals How ‘Comfortable’ The Music Industry Is Becoming With AI-Generated Content

The CEO of a leading AI music platform says a “market shift” is underway, with more artists and producers using AI to shape their sound.

What began as skepticism and criticism of AI’s growing role in music is now giving way to a noticeable “market shift” toward broader acceptance, industry insiders say.

Mikey Shulman, CEO and co-founder of Suno, a leader in AI music generation, says he’s already seeing more artists and industry figures embrace AI in music creation—marking a shift that has accelerated in just the past few months compared to the end of last year.

“I don’t meet a lot of producers and songwriters who aren’t using Suno at least a little bit in their workflows,” Shulman told the Hollywood Reporter. “I think people are starting to be a little more comfortable being public and upfront about their use, and most importantly, I think a bit more optimistic about the future. It’s not everyone, but there’s definitely a market shift.”

The shift follows early industry backlash that led to lawsuits from major labels accusing platforms like Suno and Udio of using music catalogs without permission to train AI models. Some cases have since been settled, with companies like Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group striking deals to allow only authorized content.

Suno has also worked to build trust by hosting initiatives such as a Grammy Week songwriting camp in Hollywood, which brought together artists, executives, and songwriters to demonstrate how AI can support the creative process.

“We were there and are there to listen a lot and learn and also show,” Shulman said of the camp.

Led by Grammy-winning producer Om’Mas Keith, the writers used Suno to generate fully produced tracks from simple prompts within minutes, then added live instrumentation for a human touch. Shulman said the process shows how AI enhances, not replaces, talented musicians’ creativity.

“You hang around for one hour, it’s very apparent that the best creatives in the world make better sh-t with these things than us mere mortals do,” Shulman said.

Now, creativity is playing out among everyday users on platforms like TikTok, where people regularly remix, speed up, and rework songs. He says it highlights a simple truth: “Everybody is creative. Everybody has the drive to make something.”

“In the future, people will be creating a lot more, and that means interacting with music in new ways,” he said. “And of course, that means interacting with the music of their favorite artists in new ways.”

Tatiana Cirisano, a music industry analyst at Midia Research, said she’s “pleasantly surprised” by how the industry has handled AI so far, adding that music may be better prepared than film and TV, since AI is largely accelerating challenges it has already faced for years.

Still, some remain skeptical. Songwriter Autumn Rowe, who has worked with artists like Jon Batiste, Dua Lipa, and Ava Max, has seen peers use Suno to create demos that later land with artists. She’s begun experimenting with it herself by remixing older, unreleased songs, but worries the process could dilute the authenticity of songwriting.

“I’ve got concerns with AI, I worry about younger writers who use Suno before they’ve spent the many, many hours crafting songs,” Rowe said. “But I do think AI in music will keep getting more prominent, and I think it could help writers get more leverage if they can do a lot of that production early themselves.”