Suno, the AI text-to-music startup that along with AI music generator Udio is currently being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, has launched its long-awaited mobile app. Likened to a pocket-sized virtual music studio, it is available for free (with ads) to iOS users in the U.S. Suno says a global rollout is coming soon, as is a mobile app for Android. “Whether you’re a shower singer or a charting artist, we break barriers between you and the song you dream of making. No instrument needed, just imagination,” touts Suno’s landing page on Apple’s App Store.

“The move marks a significant step in democratizing music production and could reshape the landscape of creative expression in the digital age,” reports VentureBeat, calling it “a watershed moment in the rapidly evolving field of AI-generated music.”

The tech comes at a “critical juncture, as the music industry grapples with the implications of artificial intelligence on creativity, copyright, and the very nature of musical composition.”

VentureBeat ponders a fundamental rethinking of music creation, writing that “we’re witnessing a transformational shift from a world where music production required significant technical knowledge and equipment to one where anyone with a smartphone can be a composer.”

The same might be said of generative video and filmmaking. The potential shift is creating anxiety among the professional ranks of writers, actors and support technicians concerned about job loss. Last month, the recording industry filed lawsuits against Suno and Udio to try to tamp down the threat.

“Suno is built for new music, new uses, and new musicians,” Suno CEO Mikey Shulman explains in a blog post. “We’re excited to be in your pocket whenever the moment strikes, and to provide a rich set of tools for capturing it.”

The app may have to wait for smartphone technology to catch up with it, however, Although companies including Samsung and Apple have begun issuing smartphones with chips optimized for generative AI, older models, while they may be able to download apps like Suno, could have trouble running them.

In theory, developers could code lightweight apps that would run on various models, but generative AI is notoriously resource intensive, and it could take mobile tech a minute to catch up.

In the meantime, users can use computers to deploy the web-based version of Suno, or the plug-in for Microsoft Copilot. Suno is incentivizing people to find a way to use it. “In May, the company announced its first ever scheme to pay music creators – a $1 million fund to be disbursed to creators of the most popular AI-generated tracks on the Suno platform,” writes Music Business Worldwide.