Tool decisions / Guide
Count the cost of usable audio, not just a subscription
A cue budget is a small production model: accepted takes, credits, edit time and the cost of changing direction all belong in it.
3 min read 19 Sep 2026 draftTool decisions
Choose for the work, not the demo
Judge a tool by what you can control, export and afford to revise. A spectacular first result is only the beginning of the decision.
Tool decisions / Guide
Offline or cloud audio? Choose the boundary before the session
Privacy is not a badge on a tool: decide what stays on a workstation, what may travel, and what record a cloud step creates.
3 min read 19 Sep 2026 draftTool decisions / Guide
Audit a music model card before you treat it as a permission slip
Code, weights, training data and output claims are separate questions. MusicGen's published card is a useful real example of how to keep them apart.
3 min read 19 Sep 2026 draft
Tool decisions / Guide
Export before you subscribe: test your exit plan first
A capability is only useful if you can take the files, notes and provenance you need into the next stage of work.
3 min read 19 Sep 2026 draftTools / Archive
Melodyne's DNA opened single notes inside a recorded chord
Celemony's own 2008 announcement and 2009 rollout timeline document how Direct Note Access made polyphonic audio editable note by note.
3 min read 2008 record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
LANDR turned mastering into an automated web service in 2014
The company's own pages date its automated mastering launch and describe the analysis it says it runs on every uploaded track.
3 min read 2014 record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Suno's free and paid tiers have always owned output differently
Suno's web app reached the public in December 2023 and its terms still split output rights by subscription tier.
3 min read December 2023 event · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Udio launched with named backers and an unconfirmed data question
Udio's 2024 launch reporting left training data unconfirmed; its own 2025 statement addresses only output filtering.
3 min read 10 April 2024 event · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Eleven Music named a licensing fee without naming the licensors
ElevenLabs launched a music model with broad commercial claims, then disclosed pass-through fees to unnamed rights holders.
3 min read 5 August 2025 event · prepared 16 September 2026
Tools / Archive
Logic Pro added AI session players that follow a chord track
Apple's announcement and documentation describe bass and keyboard players that follow a chord track, plus a device-side stem splitter.
3 min read 7 May 2024 event · prepared 16 September 2026
Tools / Archive
Ozone's assistant still leaves the final call to the engineer
iZotope's current documentation dates Master Assistant to 2017 and describes what it proposes and what stays adjustable.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026
Tools / Archive
Live 12 put MIDI generators and a neural sound search in the browser
Ableton's release notes describe MIDI Transformations, Generators and a neural-network Similarity Search shipped with Live 12.
3 min read March 2024 event · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Moises ties stem separation to a cover song's own rights
Moises documents licensed training data and puts the burden of clearing a cover's underlying song on the user.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Splice's terms say a downloaded sample is licensed, never owned
Splice's terms of use grant a broad usage licence while withholding ownership of the underlying sounds.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Aiva makes full copyright depend on the subscription tier
Aiva's legal terms make copyright ownership and monetisation of a generated track depend on which paid plan made it.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Soundraw and Beatoven license background music, not a master
Both services licence generated tracks for use inside your own project, with distribution and ownership handled differently.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Lalal.ai puts copyright compliance on the person uploading
LALAL.AI's terms make users solely responsible for the rights in whatever audio they separate or edit.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
A detector's 99% accuracy claim is the vendor's own measurement
Ircam Amplify's AIMD product page states an accuracy figure with no published method or independent audit.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Suno raised $125 million weeks before facing a copyright suit
Suno's own fundraising post and the RIAA's infringement complaint show a valuation and a legal filing measure different things entirely.
3 min read 21 May 2024 event · prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
ElevenLabs sells generated tracks it does not guarantee are unique
The docs and the Music Terms show buyers get a tiered usage licence while ElevenLabs disclaims exclusivity of the output.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026
Tools / Archive
A generated stem is not the same object as a session take
Suno’s own description of regenerated stems and Apple’s documentation of session-track export show why the two need different handling.
3 min read Practice record — prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
A mastering assistant matches a reference, not your taste
iZotope’s and LANDR’s own descriptions of reference matching, read against Spotify’s loudness target, show where the tool’s job ends.
3 min read Practice record — prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
A stock-music licence excludes work you do not own
Soundraw’s and Beatoven’s own licences show a generated temp cue can breach terms before a composer delivers the real one.
3 min read Practice record — prepared 16 September 2026Tools / Archive
Mubert gates commercial and sub-licensing rights by API tier
Mubert's render pricing ties commercial use, sub-licensing and streaming release to specific paid tiers.
3 min read Practice record · prepared 16 September 2026