Suno co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman recently shared that the AI music generator has reached 2 million paid subscribers and achieved 300 million dollars in annual recurring revenue. This marks significant growth, as just three months ago the company announced a 250 million dollar funding round that valued it at 2.45 billion dollars. At that earlier date, Suno reported annual revenue of 200 million dollars, indicating a major surge in a very short timeframe.
The platform allows users to create music through simple natural language prompts, enabling people with minimal experience to generate audio easily. This accessibility has raised concerns within the music industry. Several musicians and record labels have sued Suno for copyright infringement, alleging its AI model was trained on existing recorded music without permission. However, Warner Music Group recently settled its lawsuit and instead formed a deal that permits Suno to launch models using licensed music from its catalog.
Despite the controversy, Suno has produced synthetic music convincing enough to reach the top of charts on Spotify and Billboard. For example, Telisha Jones, a 31-year-old from Mississippi, used Suno to transform her poetry into the viral R&B song “How Was I Supposed to Know.” This led to a record deal with Hallwood Media reported to be worth 3 million dollars.
Nevertheless, many prominent musicians continue to voice opposition to the use of AI in music. Artists like Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Katy Perry have publicly spoken out against irresponsible AI practices in the industry.