Ask HN: AI music covers in 2026?

I think this is already possible with some manual effort.

However, AI companies likely avoid encouraging covers of copyrighted music to reduce legal risk. Record labels actively pursue unlicensed covers, and a company monetizing them would be an obvious target.

It would also likely make it easier to circumvent copyright detection algorithms.

I'm a relatively serious pianist and have been composing music (mostly classical/contrapuntal) since I was a kid.

A while back I wrote an article about how a musician could leverage GenAI along with the final piece.

The process I used was: start by singing to develop a motif → notate sheet music and chord progression → use an arranger keyboard to flesh it out → then convert the arrangement using the cover feature in Suno.

https://mordenstar.com/blog/dutyfree-shop

This cover has been going viral for some time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSH0fXp4LoI

First ai-generated song that I had on repeat. I don't know the level of effort it required, but I don't care, honestly, it's very good.

I honestly wouldn’t call Suno “AI slop” at this point. Yes, there’s a ton of garbage coming out of it. But you can also create some really detailed and intricate songs if you do it right. I’ve made some really nice duets and trios for example. Cloned from a real voice, no… but I’m also not getting sued for stealing a real person’s voice.

And some of their upcoming features which aren’t generally known yet are going to be really useful to creators.