Photo by AS Photography
Tech giant Google is pushing further into the music space, introducing new capabilities that allow users to generate original songs through its AI assistant Gemini. The company is currently testing what it describes as its most advanced music model yet, enabling users to create short tracks from prompts including text, images, and video. The feature signals another major step in the rapidly evolving intersection between artificial intelligence and music production, arriving at a time when the industry is still grappling with the implications of machine-generated content.
The tool, powered by Google’s Lyria 3 model, allows users to generate approximately 30 seconds of music complete with vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation. Marketed as a high-fidelity generator capable of translating moods or visuals into sound, the feature is currently limited to adult users within the Gemini app. Google states that all generated audio is embedded with its SynthID watermarking technology, designed to identify AI-created material and support verification efforts as synthetic media becomes more widespread.
The development lands amid growing tension between technology companies and streaming platforms. Services including Deezer and Apple Music have recently moved to reduce financial incentives for AI-generated tracks. Earlier this month, Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser revealed that billions of fraudulent streams had been removed from the platform, while Deezer announced it had demonetised the majority of AI uploads using new detection software capable of identifying music created with generative platforms such as Suno and Udio.
As artificial intelligence tools become more sophisticated and widely accessible, the music industry is confronting a more urgent and complicated reality: the line between creative augmentation and market disruption is becoming increasingly blurred. While companies frame these systems as collaborative tools, their scale and accessibility raise legitimate concerns around authorship, compensation, and artistic value. Google’s latest move suggests the technology sector is accelerating ahead regardless, leaving the cultural and economic consequences for the music ecosystem to be resolved later – or never.
