Music Industry Tools in 2026

As I’ve mentioned many times in my commentary on this site, we use an excellent tool called Suno to bring our lyrics to life. One thing I want to be very clear about is that—although I can play every one of our charts I’ve tried to play, and can sing everything we’ve written—we do not intend and never intended to present ourselves as “artists” in this context.

I’m a professional musician. But here, we are songwriters…primarily lyricists.

When it was first revealed to me that Suno existed, I found myself in a bit of a crisis of conscience: How is it possible to create a final product this insanely sophisticated without spending thousands of dollars and weeks in the studio, seeking out the best session players to make it happen? And should it be possible?

I have been in this business longer than I should probably disclose, and I have a number of friends (and family members) who have poured countless, precious resources—and 100% of their own creativity—into making music that in many cases did not result in a product as polished as what Suno can help someone achieve.

So that bothered me at first. It really bothered me. It felt like cheating.

But I started asking myself some fundamental questions:

What is Suno (marketed as a tool for songwriters) but a far more sophisticated Band In A Box? Did it ever bother me when a musician used that tool? (Answer: Not one bit.)

What technology advancement in music didn’t put someone out of work? (Answer: None that I can think of. But having done my share of sessions, I immediately felt the sting of obsolescence the moment I realized no one would ever need me anymore.)

Would anyone benefit from our “Keys To The City” not existing? (Answer: No.)

Because it wouldn’t exist, at least in this form, without Suno. We made something. It’s cool. People love listening to it…is that bad? If we could find the right horn players, would we have the money it would take to hire them? If the answer to that question is ‘no’ (and it is, because we’d need some of the best session players in the country to play that chart), did we really put anyone out of work? We simply would not have done it.

But as I said, it was never and it is not our desire to present as artists here. What we are seeking is to create a product that real, live musicians might want to record and perform. So we make demos of our material for that purpose. (And for those wondering: we have complete ownership of everything we create. Everything.)

We’ve been reading article after article about record labels moving in the direction of using tools like these. It starts to feel like you can get on board or get left behind. If you make the choice not use it, no one understands that choice better than I do—but it won’t stop what’s coming.

Finally, the way I see it (currently…ask me in a month) is: There is a tool in front of me. I can pick it up and use it, or I can keep doing everything the hard way.

That same choice is available to every musician, lyricist, and hobbyist in the world.

Thea Renee Cole