Nobody wants to tell me why they only listen to their own Suno slop | The Verge

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Nobody wants to tell me why they only listen to their own Suno slop

Suno users are abandoning real music for whatever AI spits out.

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There’s this alarming trend in the Suno subreddit. People aren’t just prompting AI songs; they’re sitting around listening almost exclusively to their own slop. And in some cases, they proudly proclaim that they don’t listen to music on traditional streaming platforms anymore — it’s just AI all day.

“Does anyone just listen to their own music now and not even music on Spotify anymore.?”“I definitely listen to my own music most of the time now. Why wouldn’t I? It’s album after album of bangers”“Guilty as charged. It’s an infectious addiction, and I love it.”“I thought I was the only one that had an addiction to suno.”“Last.fm says I listened to my own (AI music) 2239 times in the last 365 days.”“Definitely dude I’ve produced hundreds of songs and yeah I hardly ever use Spotify bc I favor my own stuff more”

“Does anyone just listen to their own music now and not even music on Spotify anymore.?”

“I definitely listen to my own music most of the time now. Why wouldn’t I? It’s album after album of bangers”

“Guilty as charged. It’s an infectious addiction, and I love it.”

“I thought I was the only one that had an addiction to suno.”

“Last.fm says I listened to my own (AI music) 2239 times in the last 365 days.”

“Definitely dude I’ve produced hundreds of songs and yeah I hardly ever use Spotify bc I favor my own stuff more”

I wanted to understand why users were consuming their own AI content over real artists’ music. So I reached out to well over a dozen people who have posted in r/Suno AI about primarily listening to their own slop, but nobody was willing to talk to me. Nobody seemed to want to go on record and explain why they preferred the hollow, polished-to-death output of Suno to the work of musicians or songwriters who had spent a lifetime honing their craft.

That left me scouring Reddit posts for explanations, and the best I got was this:

“The music I’ve generated is without a doubt better matched to my taste than most music made by real artists/bands.““Yes I definitely just listen to my own music now. It is the only place I can get the far out genres — country/rap and electronic dance/rap.”

“The music I’ve generated is without a doubt better matched to my taste than most music made by real artists/bands.“

“Yes I definitely just listen to my own music now. It is the only place I can get the far out genres — country/rap and electronic dance/rap.”

First off, if you can’t find music that matches your tastes, or “far out genres,” then you’re just not trying hard enough. As for the specific examples of “country/rap and electronic dance/rap,” part of me wants to believe this person is trolling, but a quick perusal of their Reddit posts suggests that’s not the case.

There has been country-inflected hip hop since nearly the beginning. An early example being 1980’s “Blowfly’s Rapp” by Blowfly. The post also ignores the existence of Kid Rock, Bubba Sparxxx, Big & Rich, and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.”

Hip hop has also been inextricably linked to dance music since its birth. Afrika Bambaataa sampled Kraftwerk, “The Power” by Snap! featured multiple verses by rapper Turbo B, and Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory borrows heavily from UK Garage and features production by the late Sophie. There are even entire subgenres like Hip House, Electro Rap, and Crunk that prominently feature synths and are geared towards the dance floor.

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That leaves me with two leading theories: narcissism or laziness.

You Tuber and bassist Adam Neely seems to firmly believe this pattern is driven largely by narcissism and that it’s potentially a byproduct of hyper-personalization. While I think there is an element of narcissism at play, personally, I’m more inclined to believe it’s laziness. People are inherently drawn to instant gratification. Why spend years mastering the bass when you can simply type a prompt? Suno gives people who want to see themselves as musicians — and don’t want to spend time learning an instrument — a shortcut.

Even if they just want to listen to music and don’t envision themselves as artists, finding music you like takes work. The age of streaming, self-distribution, and the decline of global monoculture can make being a consumer of media overwhelming. If the algorithm is failing you, if the major music outlets don’t align with your tastes, or you don’t have friends to help you cut through all the noise, it can be frustrating to find music you like. It takes time and effort even in the best-case scenario. So, some people might be turning to AI as a way to skip scouring Bandcamp or following people on Record Club.

Which might explain why nobody wanted to talk to me. The Suno subreddit is a safe place, filled with people doing the same thing. They don’t feel insecure or embarrassed. They have their bubble where people are supportive. And, look, I get it: nobody wants to be called lazy or a narcissist.

Of course, there is a third option: they don’t actually like music or care about art, and they don’t care to defend their low-effort relationship with it.

Terrence O'Brien Close Terrence O'Brien Weekend Editor Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Terrence O'Brien

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