One in Three Musicians Now Use AI for Creative Inspiration, Berklee Study Reveals

A new study from Boston’s Berklee College of Music shows that one-third of musicians are already turning to artificial intelligence for creative inspiration, even as the industry struggles to figure out how to value and regulate AI-generated work.

According to the research, 33 percent of respondents said they use AI to generate initial ideas, melodies, or reference tracks that they later rework. Even more striking: about 26 percent of artists said they use AI to produce full backing tracks that end up in finished releases.

“Had we done this study 18 months ago, these numbers would have been a lot lower,” said Mark Ethier, executive director of Berklee’s Emerging Artistic Technology Lab, which conducted the survey. “From that perspective, it’s pretty shocking.”

Some 18 percent of artists experiment with AI during the creative process but keep it out of the final track. But contrary to the assumption that younger musicians would be the biggest adopters, the data shows the reverse: only 56 percent of newcomers use AI in any way, compared to 92 percent of full-time, established creators.

The study surveyed more than 1,000 people in the music business, including artists, marketers, music supervisors, and video creators. It was released during the AIMS: AI Music Summit held on Berklee’s campus this week.

Berklee President Jim Lucchese said the numbers reveal not just a divide over AI, but varying attitudes among those who embrace it. “We’re seeing a high level of individual creative agency in how differently AI can be used, from a composition tool to just pushing your skills,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

The findings arrive as the music industry grapples with compensation and ethics. Last week, the American Federation of Musicians sued Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group over a settlement the labels made with AI firms Suno and Udio, alleging the companies failed to pay musicians whose work was used to train AI systems.

Nearly a third of respondents said they use AI for lyric generation, presumably in finished tracks. But artists who lean on AI may be limiting their audience: a separate poll last fall found that 52 percent of listeners are not interested in hearing AI-assisted music from their favorite artists.

Despite the controversy, fully synthetic acts—with no human instrumentalists—have scored hits in the past year, including Breaking Rust’s country single “Walk My Walk” and Saxboy Billy’s TikTok hit “The Puerto Rico Song.”

The music industry has been especially rattled by AI because, unlike video, AI-generated audio can be harder to detect. Supporters argue that sampling and technology have always been part of music; opponents say releasing work derived from someone else’s creations is neither original nor ethical.

More than 75 percent of those surveyed said video now directly shapes career outcomes, reinforcing the growing link between visual content and musical success.