Suno - AI Songs & Music Maker

What it does

Suno is a mobile app that uses generative AI to create original songs from various user inputs. Its core function is to lower the barrier to music creation, allowing anyone to produce unique tracks without musical expertise. Users can generate music by writing a text prompt, recording a short video to provide visual context, or even humming a tune. The app is built around a social discovery feed, encouraging users to listen, share, and draw inspiration from a community of creators.

Where it shines

The app's magic moment is the creation process itself. The ability to turn a simple video of a person dancing (01:17) into a fully produced song with lyrics (02:10) is impressive and feels deeply personal. Suno's standout feature is that it always generates two different versions of a song for each prompt. A helpful overlay (02:06) explains that users can swipe to choose their favorite, which turns the AI interaction into an act of creative curation. This simple choice mechanism significantly improves the odds of user satisfaction.

UX highlights

Multi-modal creation: Suno offers three distinct ways to create: from video, from recorded audio (04:15), and from text prompts. This flexibility caters to different creative starting points.
Dual-track generation: Providing two song options per prompt (02:06) is a clever way to handle the variability of AI, giving users agency and doubling the chance of a successful result.
Integrated lyrics: Lyrics are automatically generated and displayed in sync with the music, both during playback (02:48) and in an expandable view.
Comprehensive song actions: A simple tap on the three-dot menu (02:17) reveals a rich set of options, including adding to a playlist, renaming, reusing the video, and downloading both audio and video files (03:32).
Seamless content discovery: The app features a robust discovery engine with feeds for 'Fresh', 'Trending', and 'Genres' (06:12), making it easy to explore content.
In-line rating prompts: The app uses a friendly, custom modal (03:09) to ask if the user is enjoying the experience before triggering the native App Store rating prompt.

Monetization & growth

Suno's monetization strategy is direct and integrated throughout the experience. After a brief onboarding, users immediately encounter a modal informing them they've hit their 'v4 limit' (00:49), which serves as the initial paywall. The app offers Pro and Premier plans, with benefits like access to the advanced 'v4' model and more monthly credits. Upgrade prompts are also contextually placed within settings (10:38) when a user tries to toggle between music models. For growth, the app prompts for contact syncing to find friends very early in the onboarding flow (00:19), signaling a focus on building a social network.

Who it’s for

The app appears to be for anyone curious about AI-driven creativity, from casual social media users looking to create unique content to aspiring musicians exploring ideas. The simple interface removes the technical barriers typically associated with music production. Its social features also cater to a community of creators who want to share their work and discover what others are making.

Notes & opportunities

While the core creation loop is powerful, the user journey has some friction. The mandatory sign-up and immediate paywall/limit modal (00:49) before a user can even try the main feature could be a point of drop-off. Allowing one free creation before hitting any limits might better demonstrate the app's value and improve conversion. Additionally, the process of finding and inviting specific friends after syncing contacts (00:25) feels a bit basic and could be streamlined.