Timbaland to serve as strategic adviser for Ai music startup suno

The company announced that Grammy-winning music producer Timbaland has partnered with artificial intelligence music creation platform Suno. The partnership comes as Suno faces litigation from major record labels over copyright concerns.

According to the announcement, Timbaland will be a strategic advisor, contributing to product development and creative direction. The collaboration launches with a remix contest of his new single “Love Again,” offering $100,000 in prizes and distribution opportunities for winning remixes.

According to the press release, the producer will support Suno with day-to-day product development and strategic creative direction to ensure new generative music tools will meet the needs of both established and emerging artists.

Partnership Details

The platform will exclusively host Timbaland’s “Love Again,” with a remix competition beginning October 23 at suno.com/timbaland. Selected winners will have their remixes released on digital streaming platforms, though specific platforms were not disclosed.

“After witnessing the potential, I knew I had to be part of it,” Timbaland said in a press statement. He added that the partnership aims to “make A.I. work for the artist community.”

How Suno’s Technology Works

Suno utilizes advanced machine-learning models to generate original music from text descriptions. Users input text prompts describing their desired song, and the platform’s AI system produces complete musical compositions, including:

• Vocal melodies and lyrics
• Instrumental arrangements
• Harmonies and chord progressions
• Drum patterns and rhythmic elements

The platform can generate songs up to four minutes long, even for users with free accounts. According to company documentation, recent updates allow creators to extend existing compositions or generate new songs based on uploaded audio samples.

Market Position and Growth

According to company data, Suno has attracted approximately 12 million users since its launch and recently secured $125 million in funding at a $500 million valuation. In December 2023, Microsoft integrated Suno’s technology into its Copilot service, expanding the platform’s reach beyond its standalone application.

Industry Response and Legal Challenges

The partnership announcement comes amid significant legal challenges for Suno. In June 2024, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging copyright infringement in training its AI models.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), representing the major labels, is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per copyrighted work in training the AI system.

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman has defended the company’s practices: “We train our models on medium- and high-quality music we can find on the open internet… Much of the open internet indeed contains copyrighted materials, and some of it is owned by major record labels,” Shulman wrote.”

Legal Context

The lawsuit centers on how AI companies train their models. Suno acknowledges using copyrighted music in its training process but argues this falls under fair use doctrine. The recording industry disputes this interpretation.

“There’s nothing fair about using an artist’s work without permission to create competing content,” an RIAA spokesperson said in June when the lawsuit was filed.

The outcome of both the partnership and the pending litigation could have broader implications for how AI tools are developed and implemented in the music industry. The case is currently pending in federal court.