Google Launches AI Music Generation
Google's Gemini AI can now generate original music through its new AI music model Lyria 3, allowing users to create custom tracks in seconds. The breakthrough tool is positioned for creators and hobbyists, with Google stating "We've developed Lyria 3, a new AI music model, and incorporated it into Gemini, making it easier than ever to write music for users." Nigerian artist Pheelz counters that "music needs a soul and AI cannot compete with that," emphasizing human emotion's irreplaceable role in meaningful art.
- The new Lyria 3 model is also being integrated into YouTube through a feature called Dream Track for Shorts, which allows creators to generate unique audio tracks for their videos. This follows an earlier experiment on YouTube that used AI to create tracks with the vocal likeness of famous artists like Charlie Puth and T-Pain. - To address concerns about transparency, Google is embedding a digital watermark called SynthID into all music generated by Lyria. This watermark is designed to be detectable to identify the content as AI-generated. - The legality of AI-generated music ownership is a significant point of contention. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, content created entirely by AI cannot be copyrighted and falls into the public domain. This means anyone could potentially use, copy, or claim music generated by users. - While Google has stated it was "mindful of copyright" in training Lyria 3, reports from 2024 indicated the company had previously trained its AI music models on copyrighted recordings before securing licensing deals. - The global AI in music market was valued at $2.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow substantially. Some analysts predict the market could reach over $60 billion by 2034. - Surveys indicate a growing adoption of AI by music professionals, though not primarily for full song generation. One 2024 survey found 25% of music producers use AI, but mainly for tasks like separating audio stems (73.9% of those users). A later study showed 87% of producers use AI, with 79% using it for technical tasks like mixing and mastering. - Users of the free version of Gemini can create tracks up to 30 seconds long, while subscribers to premium tiers like Google AI Plus will have higher limits. The tool can generate music from text prompts, images, or videos in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Japanese, and Hindi. - Nigerian artist Pheelz, who is an award-winning producer, began his career as a church instrumentalist before gaining fame for his work with artist Olamide. In 2020, he won Producer of the Year at The Headies, a prominent Nigerian music awards show.
