How to Generate Royalty-Free AI Music for YouTube Videos

how-to · beginner · 10 minutes

Copyright claims on background music are one of the most common reasons a YouTube video gets demonetized or muted after upload. AI-generated music sidesteps the licensing problem — but only if you actually have commercial rights to the track, which on most tools means a paid plan, not the free tier.

Step 1: Check the commercial-use terms before you generate

On both Suno and Udio, the free tier is non-commercial — fine for testing, not for a monetized video. Commercial rights are unlocked on a paid plan (verify the exact tier on each tool’s own pricing page before publishing, since terms change).

Step 2: Describe mood and instrumentation, not just genre

“Lo-fi hip-hop” gets you a genre. “Lo-fi hip-hop, mellow piano, soft vinyl crackle, no drums for the first 15 seconds” gets you something you can actually cut a video to. Describe the emotional arc if the track needs to build.

Step 3: Generate multiple takes before committing

Both tools generate several variations per prompt. Pick the one with the cleanest structure for editing — an obvious intro/outro beat, or a natural place to loop if your video runs longer than the generated track.

Step 4: Match the track length to your edit, not the other way around

It’s easier to trim a longer AI-generated track down to your video’s length than to stretch a short one. Generate slightly longer than you need.

Step 5: Keep a record of what you generated and under which plan

If YouTube’s Content ID flags the track later, having the generation date and your account’s plan tier at the time helps resolve the dispute faster.

Suno vs Udio covers the credit and pricing differences in more detail if you’re choosing between the two.