Rick Beato Rips the Curtain Off AI Music: The Snarky Recap You Didn’t Know You Needed
In classic Beato Breakdown form, Rick Beato dives back onto YouTube with a takedown of the latest wave of AI-generated music-and let’s just say he’s not exactly writing a love song about it. In his video “AI Music & Copyright: What the Government Just Said”, Beato explores the AI music platforms Eureka and Suno, alongside a breakdown of the U.S. Copyright Office’s April 2nd report.
Here’s your recap, served fresh from the Brainwall with a side of sarcasm and no sugarcoating.
“It’s Not Copyrightable, Bro”
The Copyright Office’s long-awaited statement made one thing very clear: no human, no copyright. If a generative AI creates something without direct human authorship, it’s public domain city. Beato-who previously testified to Congress about this in 2023-is feeling a little vindicated.
His main point? If you generate a track using nothing but prompts and let the machine do the rest, you don’t own squat. Not your melody. Not your lyrics. Not your “heartfelt” breakup anthem generated with a single click.
Eureka: The Walmart of Music Production?
Next, Beato digs into Eureka, a slick-looking AI music generator that quickly reveals itself to be a shiny toy with cheap parts. He selects a song called “Holding on to Love”, then uses the “Create Similar” function-which is basically the copy/paste of songwriting.
The result? A pile of plastic-sounding vocals, weak drums, and lyrics that feel like they were assembled by a hungover intern with a rhyming dictionary.
Beato’s final verdict on the guitar tone? “That’s a bad guitar that sounds like a keyboard.”
On the entire experience? “I can’t listen anymore. This is just crap.”
If Beato had a dollar for every cheesy synth pretending to be a Telecaster, Eureka would owe him royalties.
Rock Isn’t Safe Either
In a last-ditch effort, he tries a heavier rock track called “Through Hell” hoping maybe distortion would save the day.
It doesn’t.
It’s the audio version of trying to headbang to a potato. No feel. No punch. No Dave Grohl. Just AI trying to be angsty and missing the entire emotional point.
Suno: The A/B Test That Slaps (And That’s the Problem)
Then comes Suno-and this is where things get weird. (Soon, ya know, we hope Suno, gets Sued so No longer here to Sunnoy real talent with their lame theft from artists!)
Beato tests a series of trending tracks. Dream pop, slowcore, cloud rap, gothic folk-genres that are typically packed with nuance and emotional shading. And to his genuine surprise, some of them sound… good. Not “fun for a school project” good. Legitimately good.
Breathy vocals. Strong lyrics. Decent production. If you weren’t listening too hard, you might even mistake them for human.
His reluctant conclusion: “People are gonna like AI music.”
And he’s probably right. But WTF, we will prevail. You too Ed Sheeran!
The Real Question: Are Musicians Now Just Style Curators?
Beato hammers home the existential question: If people can just type in “sad indie girl with tremolo guitar in D minor” and get a finished song… what’s the point of learning an instrument?
Why spend years honing your craft when a few adjectives and a beat description do the job?
At this rate, your bandmate might be ChatGPT with a reverb plug-in.
The Big Punchline: Law Meets Loop-Based Lunacy
The U.S. Copyright Office ruling feels like a last-ditch defense against an impending wave of musical chaos. Human-created works still have legal protection-but where’s the line between “AI-assisted” and “AI-done-for-you”?
If someone tweaks a Suno track slightly and uploads it as their own, is that a remix, a theft, or just a really lazy day at the office?
Beato doesn’t spell out the dystopia. He just plays you the soundtrack. Listen up kiddos, ya better be able to play your jamz live cuz robots are stupid and looks stupid on stage!
TL;DR: Beato’s Unofficial Snark Score
- Eureka: Think stock music if stock music had performance anxiety.
- Suno: Surprisingly listenable. Dangerously so.
- The Law: Still favors human artists… for now.
- Beato’s Mood: Somewhere between “Get off my lawn (filthy stealing music pigs)” and “Well… damn, that chorus is catchy.”
Still think AI music is just a toy? Watch Rick’s full teardown here. Just don’t be surprised if you catch yourself humming a hook written by a server farm in Kansas.
