The short answer
To make a song with AI, go to suno.com/create, choose Custom, write your own lyrics with section labels such as [Verse] and [Chorus], describe the style in a few concrete words and generate several takes. The free plan gives 50 credits a day on the v6-mini model, but songs are for personal, non-commercial use only. Commercial rights need Suno Pro or Premier at the time you make and download the song, and upgrading later does not cover songs made for free.
What you need first
- A clear use. A song for a friend's birthday, a jingle for a product video and a track for Spotify have different rules. Decide before you start, because it decides your plan.
- The right Suno plan. Suno's free plan gives 50 credits a day, only the v6-mini model, no monthly song downloads and no commercial rights. Free users who joined before 3 September 2026 got 7 one-time trial downloads for personal use; newer free users may occasionally receive trial downloads. Pro adds the v6 and v6-wild models, 20 song downloads a month and commercial use. Premier adds 60 downloads a month and Suno Studio, a full music workstation. Check the pricing page for current prices.
- Lyrics, ideally your own. Suno's help centre says you keep ownership of original lyrics you enter. Generated lyrics tend towards clichés, so even rough lines of your own make the song feel specific.
- A short style brief. One genre, one mood, a tempo, two or three instruments and a vocal type.
How to make a song in Suno, step by step
- Go to suno.com/create, or click the Create icon in the left-hand toolbar.
- At the top, choose Custom. Simple mode turns a one-line idea into a song; Custom gives you separate fields for your own lyrics and the style.
- Paste your lyrics into the lyrics field with section labels on their own lines: [Intro], [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Outro].
- Describe the sound in the style field in musical terms, for example "indie pop, 118 BPM, bright acoustic guitar, hand claps, warm female vocal".
- If you want no vocals, switch on the instrumental option and leave the lyrics empty.
- On a paid plan, pick the model: v6-wild to explore ideas, v6 for a more controlled final. The free plan uses v6-mini.
- Generate, then listen to several takes before you change anything.
- Fix the best take instead of regenerating. Suno's v6 family can edit part of a song from a plain-language instruction, and the redesigned lyrics editor can change a single line.
- Download while you are on the plan that gives you the rights you need, and note the date.
Who owns the song, and can you use it commercially?
This is the part most guides get wrong. From Suno's terms of service (revised 10 August 2026, effective 3 September 2026) and its help pages; a summary, not legal advice.
| Question | Free plan | Pro and Premier |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial use? | No. Personal, non-commercial use only. | Yes, for songs downloaded while subscribed, within your monthly download allowance. |
| Who holds the rights? | The terms limit use rather than assign ownership. | Suno assigns you its rights in the output, subject to the terms. |
| Does upgrading later help? | No. Subscribing does not give commercial rights to songs made on the free plan. | |
| What if I cancel? | Not applicable. | Commercial rights in songs you already downloaded while subscribed survive cancellation. |
| Spotify and Apple Music? | No. | Yes, for songs made on Pro or Premier. |
Three more rules. Remixes of other people's songs are jointly owned and non-commercial on every plan. Suno may add a fingerprint, watermark or metadata showing which tier made a song, and you agree not to remove it. And ripping a stream instead of using Suno's own download does not count as a permitted download.
The legal background matters too. Suno launched its v6 models on 9 September 2026, trained on licensed data from Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe, according to TechCrunch. Universal Music Group and Sony Music are still suing: they filed a second suit on 18 September 2026 over 60,202 recordings that also targets v6. Suno's terms also say similar outputs can be generated for other users and give no guarantee against infringement. For a big campaign, ask your legal team before you rely on an AI track.
A worked example: a 30-second jingle for a product video
Say marketing needs music for a 30-second launch clip with a narrator. On Pro, open Create, choose Custom and leave the lyrics empty with the instrumental option on. Style: "bright electronic pop, 122 BPM, plucky synths, no vocals, builds to a big finish". Generate a few takes with v6-wild and listen against the edit, not on their own, because music that sounds great alone often crowds the voiceover. Recreate the closest one in v6 for a cleaner result, then use a plain-language edit for the part that clashes, such as "remove the drums at the start". If a lead melody fights the narrator, Pro's stem separation lets you lower or drop it. Download while subscribed, write the date in the project folder and save the Suno link. That record is your proof of rights if anyone asks.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Making the song on Free, then upgrading to use it. It does not work: rights are not retroactive. Fix: subscribe before you create anything you might use commercially.
- Naming a real artist in the style. Fix: describe the sound in musical terms (genre, tempo, instruments, vocal type). It avoids imitation problems and usually gives better results.
- A style brief with five genres. Long lists blur the result. Fix: one genre, one mood, two or three instruments.
- Asking for exact timings in the prompt. Do not count on a song model hitting an exact length such as a "15-second intro". Fix: generate, then trim or edit the section you need.
- Running out of downloads. Pro allows 20 song downloads a month and Premier 60. Fix: download only finals, not every take.
- Uploading someone else's voice or track. Suno's licence over what you upload is broad and perpetual, and the terms describe no training opt-out. Fix: only upload audio and voices you own or have permission to use.
Which tool should you use?
- Suno for full songs with vocals, lyrics editing and, on Premier, a workstation with stems and MIDI. It is our default pick for most people.
- ElevenLabs if you mainly need background music next to voiceovers. Its free plan includes music generation, and commercial use of music starts on Starter.
- Claude or ChatGPT for writing and tightening lyrics before you paste them into Suno. Suno's MCP beta can also connect it to Claude, ChatGPT and other clients, with early-access sign-up.
See the best AI for music for the full shortlist, and the best AI for YouTube if the song is going under a video.
Prompts to copy
Lyrics with section labels (for Claude or ChatGPT)
Write lyrics for a [genre] song about [topic] for [audience]. Use section labels on their own lines: [Verse], [Chorus], [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Chorus]. Keep lines short and singable, avoid clichés like 'fire' and 'heart of gold', and include these details: [names, places, inside jokes].
You get: Lyrics ready to paste into Suno's lyrics field
Style brief (Suno style field)
[Genre], [tempo] BPM, [two or three instruments], [vocal type such as warm male vocal or no vocals], [mood], [one production detail such as big finish or lo-fi texture]
You get: A concrete style description that Suno can aim at
Instrumental under a voiceover
Style: calm corporate acoustic, 96 BPM, soft piano and light guitar, no vocals, steady and unobtrusive, no big drops. Turn on the instrumental option and leave the lyrics empty.
You get: Background music that does not fight a narrator
Plain-language section edit
Keep everything the same but [one change, such as: remove the drums in the first verse / make the final chorus bigger / replace the line 'X' with 'Y'].
You get: A fixed take without regenerating the whole song
Rights record for your files
Create a one-paragraph rights record for a song I made with Suno. Song title: [title]. Plan at creation and download: [plan]. Download date: [date]. Intended use: [use]. Note the Suno terms version effective 3 September 2026 and list anything I should confirm with legal.
You get: A note to keep with the track as proof of how and when it was made