Enzi

09/01/2026

This week’s AI music news landed in two very different places, and both matter if you make or play music.

Universal Music Group announced a major partnership with NVIDIA to build what they’re calling “responsible AI” for music. The deal uses NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo model (which can understand full tracks, not just metadata) to power smarter discovery and new creation tools built with artists. UMG’s CEO made it clear this is a direct response to the wave of generic AI content flooding streaming platforms.

At the same time, tools for independent creators keep getting stronger. Free-tier platforms now offer five tracks per month with commercial rights, and startups like Wubble are rolling out royalty-free music generation aimed squarely at video producers and content teams.

There’s also movement in the middle ground. SSL just launched autoSeries plugins that combine classic analog modelling with AI analysis to help you dial in EQ and dynamics faster. Virtual DJ 2026 added AI features like lyric censoring and prompt-based set building to speed up your workflow.

So where does this leave working DJs, producers and creators? Somewhere between the major-label negotiation table and the scrappy tools you can download today.

Latest Future Frequencies breaks it all down.
https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq/p/umg-bets-on-nvidia-while-free-tools?r=1b6i84&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=post-publish

Frequencies To Watch

02/01/2026

The Holiday Week AI Music Dropped Some Numbers 📊

While most of us were still in festive mode, the AI music world was busy:

🎵 Deezer revealed they’re getting 50,000 AI-generated tracks uploaded EVERY DAY - that’s 34% of all new music submissions (up from just 10% at the start of 2025)

🔊 Sound Stock launched with 10 million royalty-free audio assets, all AI-curated

🎚️ Meta published research crowning LALAL.AI as the best vocal remover for stem separation

🤖 OpenAI confirmed they’re building a music generation tool to compete with Suno, working with Juilliard students

What’s interesting is whilst AI uploads are exploding, these tracks account for barely any actual listening. People are making AI music way more than they’re consuming it.

For DJs and producers, this means crate digging is about to get a lot more challenging. Quality curation becomes essential when the volume grows this fast.

Full analysis in this week’s Future Frequencies newsletter https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq/p/post-xmas-from-holiday-lull-to-ai?r=1b6i84&utm_medium=ios

What’s your take? Are you seeing more AI tracks showing up when you’re searching for new music?

01/01/2026

31/12/2025

🎵 2025: The Year AI Music Became Your Co-Pilot

Just published my year-end review for Future Frequencies, and wow, what a transformation we witnessed this year.

AI stopped being something we debated and became something we actually use. Here's what changed the game:

🎛️ For producers: LALAL.AI's Andromeda neural network brought professional stem separation, Suno V5 dropped with mind-blowing capabilities, and tools like iZotope integrated AI so deep into workflows that it's now just... how we work.

🎧 For DJs: Real-time stem separation that actually works in the booth. Live remixing. AI mixing suggestions that make sense. VirtualDJ 2026 and djay Pro AI brought features that felt like science fiction 18 months ago.

📊 The numbers: 60% of musicians now use AI tools regularly. The market hit $6.2 billion this year and is heading toward $38.7 billion by 2033. "Breaking Rust" became the first AI track to top Billboard Country charts.

🎵 For listeners: Here's the uncomfortable bit. 82-97% of people couldn't tell AI from human-created music in blind tests. Spotify removed 75 million AI tracks, but 28-34% of daily uploads on platforms like Deezer are still AI-generated.

The industry went from lawsuits to licensing deals faster than anyone predicted. Major labels are launching licensed AI platforms in 2026. Whether musicians and listeners care about "legitimate" AI generation remains to be seen.

The big question: Does it matter if the music you love was made by a machine? Your streaming choices directly impact human musicians' livelihoods, and platforms are starting to give you explicit choices about AI content.

We crossed a threshold this year where going backwards became impossible. Now we figure out how to move forward thoughtfully.

Full deep dive in the link here: https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq/p/2025-the-year-ai-music-became-your?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

What's your experience been? Using AI tools? Avoiding them?

Something shifted in music production this year.

27/12/2025

26/12/2025

This week, the music industry stopped fighting AI and signed the contracts instead.

The three major labels, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music just closed their first AI licensing deals. Klay secured agreements with all three majors. Warner Music settled its lawsuits with Udio and Suno and inked licensing deals. Universal followed with Udio. Artists can now opt in to have their vocals cloned and catalogs remixed for AI training, with promises of "fair compensation."

But here's what's really happening on the ground:

🎵 Deezer is drowning in 50,000 AI-generated tracks every single day (that's 34% of all new uploads)

🎵 Spotify quietly removed 75 million spam AI tracks this year whilst launching a premium tier to escape the content flood

🎵 Algoriddim VirtualDJ 2026 just dropped with full AI integration—lyric extraction, AI prompt folders ("build me a 90s hip-hop set"), enhanced stem separation

🎵 An AI clone of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard racked up 1 million plays before Spotify took it down

🎵 A new study shows 97% of listeners can't tell the difference between AI and human-created music anymore

The majors have made their choice: monetise AI, manage the backlash through opt-in frameworks, and position themselves as the gatekeepers of "legitimate" generative music. Independent artists? We're navigating murkier waters.

I've spent this week unpacking what these deals actually mean, why the timing matters, and what comes next for creators. It's all in this week's Future Frequencies newsletter.

👉 https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq/p/the-majors-went-all-in-ai-musics?r=1b6i84&utm_medium=ios

What do you think? If your vocal style could be licensed for AI generation (with compensation), would you opt in? Or is creative control worth more than potential revenue? Drop your thoughts below 👇

📰 Frequencies To Watch

20/12/2025

Big thanks to

Harris Clement

for all of your support! Congrats for being a top fan on a streak 🔥!

19/12/2025

19/12/2025

🎧 This Week in AI + Music Tech 🤖

Some genuinely interesting developments this week that are worth paying attention to:

VirtualDJ 2026 now has natural language search built in. You can literally type “find me energetic tracks that would work with this vibe” and it understands what you mean. That’s proper AI integration solving a real DJ problem.

ACE Studio 2.0 just launched as a full production suite with 140+ AI voice models and instruments that actually perform like real musicians. Not samples - generative performances you control with MIDI. First time I’ve seen AI production tools that feel genuinely professional.

Meta's smart glasses now generate Spotify playlists based on what you’re looking at. Point them at a sunset, ask for music to match, and it creates the playlist. Wild.

The industry side is shifting fast too - platforms are now handling 20,000+ AI-generated tracks per day following the Suno-Warner Music Group partnership.

Full deep dive on all of this in this week’s Future Frequencies newsletter https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq/p/ai-production-grows-up-ace-studio?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Question for you: Are you using any AI music tools in your workflow yet? What’s working, what isn’t?

18/12/2025

https://open.substack.com/pub/enzifuturefreq

17/12/2025

I made this Jungle remix using AI a few weeks back, and I feel its worthy of hearing. Let me know what you think!

AI remix that I felt was worth hearing