Suno has introduced the latest version of its AI music generator, v5, which it describes as its “most advanced music model yet.”
The $500 million-valued company revealed the update via a banner in the Apple App Store on Tuesday (September 23) and published a YouTube video outlining the new version’s key features.
The release comes days after major record labels filed an amended complaint alleging Suno engaged in illegal “stream-ripping” to obtain copyrighted music for training its AI models.
In the description for the product launch video, the AI music company describes v5 as its “most advanced music model yet,” claiming that it “composes like a musician, adapts like a collaborator, and creates like never before…”
“A lot of things should get better, musical structure, fidelity, overall composition, but also, maybe more importantly, it will power a lot of the upcoming features and capabilities on our platform,” said Suno CTO Georg Kucsko of the v5 update, in the video on Tuesday.
Suno claims that its “game-changing update” offers a “leap in audio quality,” with “natural and authentic vocals,” and “unprecedented creative control”.
Alongside v5, Suno announced plans for “Suno Studio,” an audio workstation that will integrate the new model and allow users to restructure songs by removing and adding individual components like drums, synthesizers, and vocals. The feature builds on existing tools like “add vocals” and “add instrumentals.”
The platform is also introducing “sample to song” functionality, enabling users to upload short audio snippets and expand them into full compositions. Users can record guitar lines or vocals, upload them to Suno, and integrate them into AI-generated tracks with genre modifications.
Watch the full video below:
Suno offers a free tier alongside “Pro” ($8/month) and “Premier” ($24/month) subscription options.
The company is taking a phased approach to the v5 rollout, initially limiting access to Pro subscribers only while free users await a separate upgrade.
“V5 since it’s the newest version and you know the biggest GPUs etc. It’ll be for pro users only,” Kucsko explained, describing the current release as an “early beta version” that will allow the company to “learn quickly all the things that we messed up and things that we need to quickly hot patch and improve.”
Free tier users will receive their own significant upgrade featuring “a much much better model” soon, reflecting substantial improvements since the free tier was last updated.
The product updates follow amended complaints filed September 19 by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group alleging Suno used “stream-ripping” technology to circumvent YouTube’s protective measures and illegally download copyrighted recordings.
Stream-ripping involves bypassing technological protections on streaming platforms to download content, which violates federal anti-circumvention provisions of US copyright law.
The labels claim Suno circumvented YouTube’s “rolling cipher” encryption system to access and download their copyrighted recordings without permission.
A separate class-action lawsuit led by independent country artist Tony Justice also filed amended allegations Monday with similar stream-ripping claims, expanding the complaint from 24 to 68 pages.
Both Suno and rival platform Udio were originally sued in June 2024 by the major labels for alleged “mass infringement” of copyrighted recordings. In their responses, both companies acknowledged using copyrighted material in training but argued their use qualifies for “fair use” protection under copyright law.
The latest legal strategy appears influenced by Anthropic’s recent $1.5 billion settlement with book authors who claimed the AI company used pirated materials to train its models. That case established precedent that while AI training might qualify for fair use protections, obtaining training materials through piracy does not.
Suno faces growing competition from platforms taking different approaches to licensing. ElevenLabs recently launched Eleven Music with licensing agreements from indie music organization Merlin and publisher Kobalt. This week, AI chipmaker NVIDIA made a strategic investment in ElevenLabs.
Suno has raised $125 million in funding and reports over 12 million users have created music using its platform. The company continues to defend its use of copyrighted material under fair use doctrine while the legal cases proceed.Music Business Worldwide
