Music generator ProducerAI joins Google Labs

Source: TechCrunch

ProducerAI joins Google Labs

The generative AI music tool ProducerAI will become part of Google Labs, the company announced on Tuesday.

Backed by The Chainsmokers, the ProducerAI platform lets users write natural‑language requests—e.g., “make a lo‑fi beat”—to generate music. It uses Google DeepMind’s Lyria 3 music‑generation model, which can turn text and even image inputs into audio outputs.

Google announced last week that its Lyria 3 capabilities would be introduced into the flagship Gemini app, but ProducerAI makes it possible for users to communicate with the AI model more like a “collaboration partner,” according to Elias Roman, Google Labs’ Senior Director of Product Management.

“ProducerAI has allowed me to create in new ways,” Roman wrote. “I’ve experimented with new genre blends, expressed how I feel with personalized birthday songs for my loved ones, and made custom workout soundtracks for myself and friends.”

Google also shared that three‑time Grammy‑winning rapper Wyclef Jean used the Lyria 3 model and Google’s Music AI Sandbox on his recent song “Back From Abu Dhabi.”

“This is not just a machine where you’re clicking a button a hundred times, and then you’re done. It’s a careful kind of curation where you’re going through and saying, ‘Oh, I think that’s something we can use,’” said Jeff Chang, Director of Product Management at Google DeepMind, in a video the company released.

Jean recalled wanting to know what a flute would sound like in a track he had already recorded, and being able to use Google’s tools to quickly add a flute sound to the mix.

“What I want everybody to understand … is you’re in the era where the human has to be the most creative,” Jean said. “There’s one thing that you have over the AI: a soul. And there’s one thing that AI has over you: the infinite information.”

AI in the music industry

Opposition from musicians

Some musicians have ardently opposed the use of AI tools in the music‑making process, arguing that generative AI is often trained on copyrighted data from artists without consent. Hundreds of musicians—including Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, and Jon Bon Jovi—signed an open letter in 2024 calling on tech companies not to undermine human creativity with AI music generation tools.

Legal actions

A cohort of music publishers recently sued the AI company Anthropic for $3 billion, alleging illegal downloading of more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, sheet music, lyrics, and compositions. (Anthropic was previously ordered by a court to offer a $1.5 billion settlement to authors whose books were pirated for AI training.)

One federal judge, William Alsup, ruled last year that training on copyrighted data is legal, but pirating it is not.

Artists embracing AI

Other artists have embraced AI as a tool to improve audio quality rather than as a creative substitute.

• Paul McCartney used AI‑powered noise‑reduction systems—the same technology that filters background noise on video calls—to clean up a decades‑old, low‑quality John Lennon demo. The resulting “new” Beatles track, “Now and Then,” won a Grammy in 2025.

• AI music‑generation tools like Suno have produced synthetic songs that chart on Spotify and Billboard. Telisha Jones, a 31‑year‑old from Mississippi, turned her poetry into the viral R&B track “How Was I Supposed To Know” using Suno and subsequently signed a record deal reportedly worth $3 million.