AI Vocal Generators: What You Need to Know
The world of music production is now full of AI-based tools, and AI vocal generators are a major example.
If you’ve never used an AI vocal generator, you might be curious about what they’re capable of.
This article will give you a quick intro to AI vocal generators and help you decide whether this technology is worth integrating into your music workflow.
Let’s dig in.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.
What are AI vocal generators?
In the context of music production, AI vocal generators are tools that use machine learning algorithms to create human-like vocal samples or stems. The algorithms are trained on real human voices to generate realistic singing performances, and often allow users to customize the results to some degree.
Some vocal generators offer a fixed set of vocal models that have been pre-trained on various source vocals.
Others will generate vocals based on your own performance, usually by training itself on an audio file that you provide.
Depending on what AI vocal generator you use and how it works, there are different creative and legal considerations to keep in mind. We’ll explore that a bit later.
For now, let’s take a quick look at three AI vocal generators that are especially well-known at the moment.
Best AI vocal generators
Kits.ai
Kits.ai is a toolset that offers a range of different AI-based music production features, including AI vocal generators.
These include Voice Cloning, AI Singing Generators, Voice Blending, Harmonies, Voice Designer, and Voice Variants.
Voice Cloning, for example, allows you to upload your own voice recordings, which the engine will train itself on to create an AI-based “clone” of that voice.
Their AI Singing Generators, meanwhile, offer a library of pre-made AI-based voices that you can use for your productions, royalty-free.
The rest of their AI voice generation features allow you to modify or even combine AI voice characteristics in various ways.
Kits.ai is cloud-based, so you need to use it through an internet connection. Their pricing page shows several different subscription options.
Vocaloid 6
Developed by Yamaha, Vocaloid might be best described as an AI vocal generation workstation.
It can operate as either a standalone tool or as a plugin in your DAW. It also supports ARA integration. Either way, it works and lives on your computer, not in the cloud.
Like Kits.ai, Vocaloid can either produce “cloned” vocals based on your own input or generate vocals from pre-made voices.
Its more unique features include a large inventory of pre-made singing phrases that you can use with any voice, optimized harmonization and doubling features, and detailed editing tools for shaping the style and character of your vocal performances.
Vocaloid is also multilingual, allowing you to generate vocals in English, Japanese, and Chinese.
It’s available as a one-time purchase for $225 and is compatible with both Windows and macOS. You can install a trial version if you want to take it for a spin first.
Synthesizer V Studio
Similarly to Vocaloid, Synthesizer V Studio can be described as a kind of AI vocal generation workstation.
It generates vocals from MIDI files or recorded MIDI input, allowing you to customize the vocal characteristics and edit the performance to suit your needs.
Like Vocaloid, Synthesizer V Studio allows you to generate vocals in English, Japanese, and Chinese.
The vocals are generated based on voice databases, which are AI voice models designed to fit particular genres or styles.
With the exception of the free voice database included with the Pro version, these need to be purchased separately as add-ons.
Depending on what version you get, Synthesizer V Studio is available as standalone software or a plugin to use within your DAW. It also supports ARA integration.
Synthesizer V Studio Pro is available for a one-time purchase of $89, but they also offer a feature-limited Basic Edition for free.
AI vocal generators and copyright
A very common consideration when it comes to any AI music tool is the question of copyright and intellectual property.
Some producers might be looking for AI vocal generators because they want to replicate the sound of a famous vocalist.
While this is technically possible with many of today’s tools, it can potentially get you into some tricky legal territory.
For example, if you clone another artist’s voice and impersonate that artist with your releases, this may violate the content policy of streaming platforms like Spotify and distributors like LANDR.
It also may constitute a violation of intellectual property law, which is not something any artist wants to risk.
It’s also important to note that the majority of AI voice clones of real artists are made without the artist’s consent.
This is currently a legal grey area, but cautious producers might want to avoid AI vocal generators that do this.
Instead, it’s probably a better idea to use AI singing voices that are generated based on your own voice or that are the developer’s original creation.
If the vocal models are truly legally-sourced and royalty-free, then they can most likely be used in the music you release commercially.
When in doubt, reach out to the developer to find out how their vocal models and vocal generation engine are sourced and built.
Should you use AI vocal generators?
When it comes to the copyright implications of AI vocal generators, whether or not you should use one depends on the tool you’re using and how careful you want to be.
We always recommend that you stay fully informed and ensure that you follow intellectual property law, as well as the content policies of your distributor and any platform that hosts your music.
However, the other question is whether or not AI vocal generators are right for your music creatively.
Some AI vocal generators deliver impressive results, but many others will sound too unnatural compared to a real performance.
This artificial quality might suit the style of your music, but for many genres, it’s more worthwhile to use real human vocals.
It’s also easier than ever to hire vocalists through music professional networks like LANDR Network.
Plus, the vast amount of human vocal samples that are available today is stunning, and we highly recommend checking out what’s available from LANDR Samples.
Whether or not you use AI vocal generators is ultimately up to you, but as with any generative AI music tool, it’s wise to make sure you do it legally and ethically.
Various contributors from the LANDR team of music mentors.
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