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A complete song – including lyrics, vocals and music – can be finished in just a few minutes, without having to play an instrument or enter a recording studio. Sounds incredible? But that's exactly what Suno makes possible. From blues to pop to futuristic chillwave: Suno transforms simple text input into interesting sound experiences. Thanks to the easy-to-understand interface and the many random options and suggestions, a song can be generated quickly without the need for musical expertise. Welcome to the world of Suno – where artificial intelligence meets music.
What is Suno?
Suno AI, or Suno for short, is an AI-based music generator that has been gaining widespread attention since December 2023. Since then, Suno has become one of the most popular AI music generators, as it makes creating songs as easy as texting with ChatGPT.
While there are other AI music generators – including Adobe's Project Music GenAI Control, YouTube's Dream Track and Jammable (formerly Voicify AI) – Suno stands out for its versatility. It can generate lyrics, vocals, instrumental music and even the appropriate artwork from a simple prompt.
The latest release of Version 4 offers significant improvements in audio quality, lyrics and song structure. This version is initially only available to paying customers.
How does Suno work?
As with most generative AI tools, the exact way Suno works is unclear, which has already led to legal disputes. Because it is not known which data or music was used to train the tool. What is largely clear, however, is which machine learning (or, more precisely, deep learning) approaches Suno is based on: It uses a combination of transformer and diffusion models.
Transformer models, which are also used by AI chatbots such as GPT, analyze and create text-based content such as song lyrics using prediction probabilities. For musical composition, Suno also relies on diffusion models that reconstruct audio content gradually from a noisy state – an approach that enables precise control over sound details.
How can I use Suno?
Suno is offered as a web application and can be used on various devices with Internet access, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. A free app is also available for Android and iOS.
Signing up for Suno is very quick and easy: click on “Sign Up” at suno.ai and log in with a Discord, Microsoft or Google account. Now you can then create your own songs.
Costs for Suno
Suno offers a free version that can be used to generate up to 10 songs a day. It is ideal for trying out Suno or for occasional use. For more intensive or commercial applications, the paid plans offer extended options:
- Pro Plan: For $10 per month, you get 2,500 credits for 500 songs, commercial usage rights and, most importantly, access to version 4, which can achieve much better results.
- Premier Plan: For $30 per month, the Premier Plan offers 10,000 credits for 2,000 songs, as well as all the features of the Pro Plan.
Prompting in Suno for beginners
Suno offers two modes for prompting under the “Create” button in the left-hand menu. Simple mode, as the name suggests, is kept simple and only creates the song with the help of a text prompt. It is particularly suitable for beginners because it allows songs to be generated very quickly and easily. Custom mode offers far more possibilities to steer the result in a certain direction, as the lyrics and genres can be better controlled here.
But first:
What is not possible with Suno?
- Band or artist names cannot be used in prompts.
- Certain voices of artists or singers cannot be imitated (e.g., Elvis singing a song by Taylor Swift).
- Songs cannot be replayed differently (e.g., Queen's "We Will Rock You" in a polka style).
Simple Mode
In Simple Mode, the song is created with a description in text form. To do this, Custom Mode must be switched off at the top left.
- Instrumental: If this function is activated at the top right, a song without lyrics will be generated.
- Song description: In this text field, the prompt is entered with a maximum of 200 characters. This can be an idea, a mood, or a general thought that characterizes the song. However, it can also be a very specific prompt.
For example:
An energetic electro song in the style of the 80s that revolves around adventure and freedom. Synthesizers and electric guitars should be the focus. The vocals should sound optimistic and driving.
- Create: Click on “Create” and Suno will create two clips based on the description above with matching lyrics.
That's how easy it is to create two songs with a corresponding cover picture. The generated clips are displayed both on the creation page and in the personal library, where they can be played and edited at any time.
Custom Mode
In Custom Mode, the input is split into two separate fields: one for the lyrics and one for the music style. Both fields offer a text field for entering your own content as well as a random function.
- Instrumental: This function can also be used to generate songs without lyrics in custom mode.
- Lyrics: There are 3 options for the lyrics:
- 1. Insert a self-written or already generated song text.
- 2. Click on “Write with Suno” to generate a text based on a description or idea.
- 3. Let Suno's random generator decide by clicking on “Surprise Me”.
- Style of Music: This field describes not only the genre but also the mood, sub-genres, instruments and vocal characteristics. Examples can be found in a detailed table below.
- Persona: Indicates the characteristics of a song, including vocal style, arrangement and atmosphere, which can be saved and reused for future songs. Personas are only included in the Pro and Premier Plan.
- Title: Here you can enter a suitable title for your own song, which can also be changed later in the library.
- Create: The button starts the song generation. After a short time, two new songs are ready to listen to!
Style List
There are a variety of styles, genres and types to find the right sound for your own creations. The following table provides an overview of the most common ones, although it does not claim to be complete. Rather, it should serve as a suggestion to steer Suno in the right direction.
| Category | Subcategories |
|---|---|
| Style | Danceable: Dance, Festive, Groovy, Mid-Tempo, Syncopated, Tipsy Dark: Atmospheric, Cold, Dark, Doom, Dramatic, Sinister Eclectic: Adjunct, Art, Capriccio, Mellifluous, Nü, Progressive, Unusual Emotion: Anthemic, Emotional, Happy, Jubilant, Melancholy, Sad Hard: Aggressive, Banger, Power, Stadium, Stomp Lyrical: Broadway, Cabaret, Lounge, Operatic, Storytelling, Torch-Lounge, Theatrical, Troubadour, Vegas Magical: Ethereal, Majestic, Mysterious Minimal: Ambient, Cinematic, Heat, Minimal, Slow, Sparse Party: German Schlager, Glam, Glitter, Groovy Soft: Ambient, Bedroom, Chillwave, Ethereal, Intimate, Heat, Sadcore Weird: Carnival, Distorted, Glitchy, Haunted, Hollow, Musicbox, Random World/Ethnic: Arabian, Bangra, Calypso, Chalga, Egyptian, Hindustani, Hōgaku, Jewish Music, Klezmer, Matsuri, Middle East, Polka, Russian Navy Song, Suomipop, Tribal |
| Genre | Country: Appalachian, Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Freak Folk, Western Dance: Afro-Cuban, Dance Pop, Disco, Dubstep, Disco Funk, EDM, Electro, High-NRG, House, Trance Downtempo: Ambient, Downtempo, Synthwave, Trap Electronic: Ambient, Cyberpunk, Drum’n’bass, Dubstep, Electronic, Hypnogogical, Phonk, Synthpop, Techno, Trap Jazz/Soul: Bebop, Gospel, Electro, Frutiger Aero, Jazz, Latin Jazz, RnB, Soul Latin: Bossa Nova, Latin Jazz, Forró, Mambo, Salsa, Tango Reggae: Afrobeat, Dancehall, Dub, Reggae, Reggaeton Metal: Black Metal, Deathcore, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal Trap, Metalcore, Nu Metal, Power Metal Popular: Pop, Dance Pop, Pop Rock, Kpop, Jpop, RnB, Synthpop Rock: Classic Rock, Blues Rock, Emo, Glam Rock, Hardcore Punk, Indie, Industrial Rock, Punk, Rock, Skate Rock, Skatecore, Suomipop Urban: Funk, Electro, HipHop, RnB, Phonk, Rap, Trap |
| Type | Background: Elevator, Jingle, Muzak Call to Prayer: Adan, Adjan, Call to Prayer, Gregorian Chant Character: I Want Song, Hero Theme, Strut, March, Military, Villain Theme Children: Lullaby, Nursery Rhyme, Sing-along, Toddler Composer: Adagio, Adjunct, Andante, Allegro, Capriccio Instruments: Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Doublebass, Electricbass, Electric Guitar, Fingerstyle Guitar, Percussion Noise: Chaotic, Distorted, Glitch, Noise, Random, Stuttering Orchestral: glissando trombone, legato cello, Orchestral, spiccato violins, staccato viola, Symphonic Retro: 1960s, Barbershop, Big Band, Classic, Doo Wop, Girl Group, Mambo, Salooncore, Swing, Traditional Suffix: …core, …jam, …out, …wave Traditional: Americana, Barbershop, Christmas Carol, Traditional Voice: A Cappella, Arabian Ornamental, Dispassionate, Emotional, Ethereal, Gregorian chant, Hindustani, Lounge Singer, Melismatic, Monotone, Narration, Resonant, Spoken |
If you are not quite familiar with all these terms and prefer a few acoustic examples, you can use suno.com/explore. There you have the opportunity to listen to countless styles of music. You can choose directly from the list on the right or select a random style. Unfortunately, there is no search function here, but it is still very helpful for inspiration (and to pass the time).
Suno and copyright
Using Suno to create AI-generated music for commercial purposes raises complex copyright issues. A key problem is that Suno trained its AI models on copyrighted music without obtaining licenses for it. This led to lawsuits from major record companies such as Universal, Sony and Warner against Suno and similar platforms in June 2024.
The legal situation is currently unclear, as there are still no final court decisions on these cases yet. Suno argues that the training of the AI models falls under the principle of “fair use” and therefore does not constitute a copyright infringement.
Companies seeking to use AI-generated music commercially should be aware of the potential legal risks. It is advisable to closely monitor developments in this area and, if necessary, seek legal advice to ensure that the use complies with copyright law.
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