- AI audio giant Suno has launched a vinyl pressing service
- Yes, it is seemingly just for AI tracks generated on its site
- It’s eco-friendly, apparently
Among many audiophiles, vinyl records are considered sacred; I concur, which is why my turntable was the first thing I set up when I recently moved home. But that’s clearly not the case for everyone.
For me and, I hope, fellow record-lovers, the draw is that vinyl is an undeniably human way of listening to music. By their sheer nature, records are full of everything and with nothing edited out: there are mistakes and imperfections (just as we all have), but the analog result is warm and familiar… and somehow welcoming.
However, in our ‘everything-is-AI’ modern world, someone somewhere had the tiring thought, “What if AI came to records too?” and so we have this news.
Latest Videos FromTechRadar
AI ‘music’-making service Suno is now encouraging you to press tracks generated using the site onto records, and to buy them for $45.
That’s right, you can now sully a perfectly good bit of PVC plastic with ‘songs’ made by a computer, bringing a hearty dose of cold inhumanity to this all-so-human format.
Apparently, you can only order one record per creation from your Suno library, which can be up to 46 minutes, so this isn’t a way of mass-producing AI slop to vinyl (thankfully). And Suno claims the material used for the records is sourced in an “eco friendly” way — a pretty hilarious assertion given how disastrous for the planet AI is proving itself to be generally. It’s like chopping down trees with a pre-owned chainsaw.
One for the record
To audiophiles (or how about actual human bands, whose markup on a physical music product is far bigger than in streaming?) Suno’s move feels destined to anger.
For me, it devalues a beloved format. It pulls apart the big black disc — with all the human, tangible attributes that makes me revere it — and makes it fake. When talking this piece through with my editor, she said, “I think it is a hideous idea that makes me feel unclean”.
If there’s any possible silver lining, it’s that Suno’s vinyl offerings might encourage people who use the site to discover the joys of real records; think older, couldn’t-be-AI albums (and if that’s you, why not check out our list of the best turntables to listen with, and I’ll forgive your AI use if you buy something).
Or perhaps this is the last angry gasp of an AI slop machine? Google Trends data shows that interest in Suno is slowly dropping: as of early August, search is 10% down month-on-month, and over three months its interest is slowly dropping too.
Perhaps this could be fueled by the rebellion against AI music, with a growing number of streaming sites keeping it at bay. Deezer is bringing down the hammer hard, and we recently spoke to Qobuz’s managing director about its own stance against slop. Even Spotify is belatedly taking some baby steps.
So is this Suno’s victory lap against ‘real’ music, showing it’s so prominent that nothing is sacred? Or is this its attempt to catch up, by adopting a format beloved by audiophiles? It’s hard to say. All I know is that no AI slop record is getting anywhere near my turntable.
The best turntables for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nkwMzemYEi434RbgZg5Qrj-1280-80.jpg
Source link
tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
