Quick Answer
Meta’s MusicGen is the most recommended free AI music generator, and you cannot legally sell what it makes: its code is MIT but its model weights are CC-BY-NC 4.0. ACE-Step 1.5 is the alternative, with MIT weights, 6GB VRAM, vocals in 50+ languages, and output that is genuinely yours.
Meta's MusicGen is the most recommended free AI music generator, and you cannot legally sell what it makes. Its code is MIT but its model weights are CC-BY-NC 4.0, which prohibits commercial use. ACE-Step 1.5 is the alternative: MIT weights, runs in 6GB of VRAM, generates vocals in 50+ languages, and its output is genuinely yours.
Key takeaways
- MusicGen weights are CC-BY-NC 4.0. The MIT badge on the repository covers the code only, not the model.
- ACE-Step 1.5 is MIT for the weights, making it the commercially safe free option.
- Suno's free tier does not give you ownership. Suno's own help centre states they retain ownership of free-tier songs.
- Suno rights are not retroactive: upgrading does not licence songs you made on the free plan.
- Spotify does not ban AI music, but excludes AI Personas from algorithmic recommendations by default.
The licence trap that costs people money
Search for free AI music generation and MusicGen appears everywhere. Its GitHub repository shows an MIT badge, and articles list it as the free option for creators.
Meta's own README states, verbatim:
"The code in this repository is released under the MIT license... The models weights in this repository are released under the CC-BY-NC 4.0 license"
CC-BY-NC means non-commercial. This applies to MusicGen, AudioGen, EnCodec and MAGNeT.
The practical consequence: you cannot monetise MusicGen output on YouTube, distribute it to Spotify, use it in client work, or put it in an advertisement. Any article recommending MusicGen for "make money with AI music" is giving licence-violating advice.
The code being MIT means you can use, modify and redistribute the software. It says nothing about the music.
The licence position across every free tool
| Model | Code | Weights | Sell the output? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACE-Step 1.5 | MIT | MIT | Yes |
| ACE-Step v1-3.5B | n/a | Apache-2.0 | Yes |
| MusicGen / AudioCraft | MIT | CC-BY-NC 4.0 | No |
| Magenta RealTime 2 | Apache-2.0 | CC-BY-4.0 | Yes, with attribution |
| Magenta (original) | Apache-2.0 | n/a | Archived January 2026 |
| Stable Audio Open 1.0 | n/a | Stability Community | Under $1M revenue only |
| Amphion | MIT | MIT | Text-to-music still "developing" |
Two entries need flagging beyond the licence.
Magenta was archived on 6 January 2026 and is read-only. Any 2026 listicle recommending it is pointing at a dead repository. Its live successor is Magenta RealTime 2, released June 2026, with Apache-2.0 code and CC-BY-4.0 weights.
Amphion does not do text-to-music yet. Its own task table marks TTM as "developing." It is a research toolkit, not a music generator.
ACE-Step 1.5: the one that actually works
ACE-Step 1.5 is the answer for anyone who wants free music they can sell.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Weights licence | MIT |
| VRAM | ≤6GB (turbo); 8-16GB standard; 20GB+ for XL |
| Hardware | CUDA, AMD ROCm, Apple Silicon (MLX), Intel XPU, CPU offload |
| Speed | Under 10 seconds per song on an RTX 3090 |
| Length | 10 seconds to 10 minutes |
| Vocals | Yes, 50+ languages, plus vocal separation and cover generation |
That cross-platform support matters. Most local AI music tools are CUDA-only; ACE-Step runs on Macs and AMD cards too.
By comparison, MusicGen needs at least 16GB of VRAM for its medium model, produces mono audio from base models, and does not generate usable vocals. It is both more demanding and less capable, on top of being non-commercial.
How to use it: ACE-Step ships as a Python project with a web interface. You install it, download the model weights, and generate from a text prompt plus optional lyrics. The turbo variant is the one to start with at 6GB.
How good is it really?
ACE-Step's own paper compares it against Suno, and it is honest about where it loses:
| Metric | ACE-Step 1.5 | Suno v5 |
|---|---|---|
| AudioBox CU (quality) | 8.09 | n/a |
| AudioBox PQ (quality) | 8.35 | n/a |
| Style alignment | 39.1 | 46.8 |
| Lyric alignment | 26.3 | 34.2 |
Blind human A/B testing placed ACE-Step 1.5 between Suno v4.5 and v5.
The honest reading: ACE-Step produces excellent audio but follows your prompt less reliably than Suno. You will generate more attempts to get what you asked for. Note these are the developers' own numbers, so treat them as a claim rather than independent verification.
The paid services and their catches
Verified on vendor pages in September 2026:
| Service | Free tier | Paid | Commercial rights on free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suno | 50 credits/day | Pro $8/mo, Premier $24/mo | No |
| Udio | 10 credits/day, 3 full songs/day | Standard $10/mo ($8 annual) | Limited |
| Soundraw | n/a | $5.99 to $17.49/mo | n/a |
Suno's free tier is more restrictive than most people realise. Its own help centre states:
"If you are using the free version of Suno (our Basic tier), we retain ownership of the songs you generate, but you are allowed to use those songs for non-commercial purposes."
And critically, rights are not retroactive: "Subscribing to a Pro or Premier plan does not give you retroactive commercial use licensing for the songs made with a free plan by default."
So if you generate something great on the free tier and then subscribe, you still may not own it. Generate on the paid plan from the start if you intend to release.
Suno is also unusually candid that AI music may not be copyrightable: "Music made 100% with AI would not qualify for copyright protection because a human did not write the lyrics or the music."
Udio changed dramatically. After Universal Music settled its copyright suit in October 2025, Udio disabled all user downloads, then reopened a 48-hour emergency window in November after backlash. It now operates as a walled garden where you stream creations on-platform but cannot export or distribute them. Any comparison listing Udio as a route to releasing music is out of date.
Soundraw takes the opposite approach, licensing rather than transferring ownership: "Post your track on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, or anywhere else and keep 100% of the revenue," and "Anything you make while you're subscribed stays licensed for life, even if you cancel later."
What the platforms actually allow
Spotify does not ban AI music. Its own newsroom states "all music is treated equally, regardless of the tools used to make it." There is no downranking for disclosure.
But two things matter. Spotify removed 75 million spammy tracks in twelve months and now filters mass uploads, duplicates and artificially short tracks. And from mid-September 2026 it labels AI Personas, meaning artist identities that may be AI-generated. Critically: "By default, Spotify will not include AI Personas in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations."
So a fully synthetic artist persona gets excluded from the discovery that actually drives streams. That is the sharpest practical warning for anyone planning an AI music project.
Vocal impersonation is only allowed "when the impersonated artist has authorized the usage."
On YouTube, AI-generated music is named as an example requiring synthetic content disclosure. Disclosure does not affect monetization. But Content ID is ineligible for openly-licensed and royalty-free library music, so you generally cannot claim generated tracks through it.
Which should you choose?
Choose ACE-Step 1.5 if you want free, unlimited, commercially usable music and have 6GB of VRAM. It is the only free local option that is both capable and licence-clean.
Choose Suno Pro at $8 if you want the best prompt adherence and are willing to pay for ownership. Start on the paid tier, not free.
Choose Soundraw if you want simple perpetual licensing and predictable rights.
Avoid MusicGen for anything commercial, regardless of how many roundups recommend it.
Avoid Udio if you need to release or distribute music.
For a full comparison of the local options, see best AI music generators.
The verdict
Free AI music is genuinely viable now, but only if you pick the right tool for the right reason.
The most recommended free option is the one you legally cannot sell. The most popular paid service does not give you ownership on its free tier. And the platform most people want to release on will quietly exclude a fully AI artist from its recommendations.
ACE-Step 1.5 with an MIT licence is the honest answer for free commercial music. Everything else in this category needs its terms read first.
For a full test of the best free option, read our ACE-Step review.
Related reading: best AI music generators and can you monetize AI videos on YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sell music made with MusicGen?
No. Meta releases AudioCraft's code under MIT but its model weights under CC-BY-NC 4.0, which prohibits commercial use. This applies to MusicGen, AudioGen, EnCodec and MAGNeT. Many articles recommend it for monetized content, which is licence-violating advice.
What is the best free AI music generator for commercial use?
ACE-Step 1.5, which releases its weights under MIT. It runs in about 6GB of VRAM, works on CUDA, AMD, Apple Silicon and Intel, generates vocals in 50+ languages, and produces songs up to 10 minutes.
Do you own songs made on Suno's free plan?
No. Suno's help centre states that on the free Basic tier they retain ownership and you may use songs for non-commercial purposes only. Critically, rights are not retroactive: subscribing later does not licence songs you created while on the free plan.
Does Spotify allow AI-generated music?
Yes. Spotify states all music is treated equally regardless of the tools used. But from mid-September 2026 it labels AI Personas, and by default excludes them from editorial and algorithmic recommendations, which removes most discovery. Vocal impersonation requires the artist's authorization.
Can you still download songs from Udio?
Not normally. After Universal Music settled its lawsuit in October 2025, Udio disabled user downloads, reopening only a 48-hour emergency window in November. It now works as a walled garden where you stream on-platform but cannot export or distribute.