What it does
Erato is an AI song creator that transforms user inputs into complete musical tracks. Users start by providing their own lyrics or a theme. They then select from a wide range of parameters, including music style, mood, and soundscape, to guide the AI in generating a unique song. The app is designed for both musicians seeking inspiration and casual users wanting to experiment with music creation.
Where it shines
Erato's strength lies in its immediacy. The app drops you directly into the creation tool at 00:02, bypassing lengthy tutorials. The interface for customizing a song is clean and straightforward, with clear sections for Music Style, Sound Mood, and Soundscape visible at 00:32. This makes a potentially complex process feel accessible. Furthermore, the community feed at 01:05 serves as an excellent source of inspiration and a powerful demonstration of the app's capabilities, showcasing a variety of genres and styles.
UX highlights
- Direct-to-creation: The app immediately presents the core creation tool, respecting the user's time and intent.
- Investment before friction: Users can input all their creative ideas (00:16) before being asked to sign up or pay, which likely increases the motivation to convert.
- Clear parameter grouping: Song creation options are logically grouped into Style, Mood, and Soundscape, making it easy to navigate and make choices.
- Inspirational feed: The home screen features a browsable gallery of AI-generated songs, which provides social proof and helps users understand what's possible.
- Simple playback UI: The song player in the feed is minimal, with a clear play/pause button and title, focusing the experience on listening.
- Effective empty state: The user's personal creations page has a clear "No Content" message with a single "Go Create" button (01:45), guiding the user back to the primary action.
Monetization & growth
The app's monetization strategy is direct. It presents a paywall (00:07) when a user first attempts to create a song. This paywall features a single weekly subscription offer, simplifying the choice for the user. There is no free trial mentioned, focusing instead on a direct purchase model. A small link for "Visitor purchase" suggests an alternative, possibly a one-off creation credit, though its function isn't fully demonstrated. Account creation is mandatory to use the core feature, enforced via a low-friction Apple Sign-In prompt at 00:34.
Who it’s for
Erato appears to be for a broad audience. This includes songwriters and musicians looking for a tool to quickly prototype ideas or overcome writer's block. It's also suitable for content creators who need custom, royalty-free background music for videos or podcasts. Finally, it appeals to casual hobbyists and creatively curious individuals who want to play with AI and make their own music without needing technical skills.
Notes & opportunities
The app's direct-to-creation flow is strong, but the immediate paywall without a free trial or a single free creation could be a point of friction for some users. The purpose of the "Visitor purchase" option could be clarified to better explain its value. The loading indicator at 00:45 is functional but could be more engaging to maintain momentum during the brief wait. Finally, the main creation screen has a lot of vertical scrolling (00:30), which could potentially be condensed to show all options on a single screen without scrolling on larger devices.