While many musicians disapprove of the lack of legal regulation with regard to AI use in music, producer Timbaland is a big proponent of artificial intelligence, and uses it regularly in his workflow. He’s even a Strategic Advisor of Suno.
Timbaland’s endorsement of the AI music creation firm has been shared on the company’s YouTube channel. Opening with a shot of the producer grooving along to a Suno-generated track, Timbaland enthuses: “I just love innovation. I love things that can take what I’ve been doing for 30 years of my life and make it better.”
The video then showcases a section of Timbaland’s creative process, which has become highly entwined with AI. He takes advantage of Suno’s Covers feature in particular, allowing it to remix his latest single, Love Again. “Suno is the tool – it’s the tool to turn your music into something that you have never heard,” he says.
At the centre of his excitement is how refreshing Suno feels to use. “I haven’t been excited about a tool in a long time,” he explains. “I loved Ableton when it came out, but [Suno] is the new everything… I’m like a kid. It’s like I’m 19 years old. It’s like falling back in love with the purity of creativity.”
Timbaland is also hosting a competition to create a remix of his new song Love Again using Suno AI, with a total of $100,000 up for grabs.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the partnership, Timbaland has waxes lyrical about Suno, claiming he uses it for 10 hours a day. He’s so fond that he even calls Suno “Baby Timbo”, apparently.
Asked about the lawsuits aimed at AI regulation, Timbaland is undeterred by such controversy: “When they talk that talk, I’m like, ‘Come on, bro. Everything y’all use is [like] AI, from Auto-Tune on down,” he frowns. “When Auto-Tune first came out, it was a tool. That’s what Suno is – the best tool of the future. It allows you to get any idea in your imagination out of your head.”
He also waves away worries about AI replacing musicians in the future: “You still need that human element to operate this tool. It doesn’t replace anything. All it does it add to your arsenal. The attack sometimes lets you know, like, OK, we’re onto something. We got something special. I understand it comes with some some stones thrown.”
However, the ‘stones’ being thrown are more like boulders. The RIAA filed lawsuits back in June against Suno and Udio, citing “copyright infringement on an almost unimaginable scale.”
