Introducing Turntable.AI: the next chapter of social music
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Introducing Turntable.AI — The Next Chapter of Social Music
Fifteen years ago, when I came up with Turntable.fm, my dream was simple:
Let anyone become a DJ, connect with people through music — and eventually, make their own.
Back then, the tech wasn’t ready. GarageBand was the cutting edge, neural networks were mostly academic toys, and “AI music” meant a MIDI file that kind of sounded like Bach if you squinted.
This year, the moment finally arrived.
And I’m thrilled to share what we’ve been quietly building behind the scenes:
Turntable.AI: the first social music service where you can listen and create AI‑generated songs, all from a fully licensed global catalog.
It’s live. It’s working. And early December, we’re rolling it out to everyone.
This is the ChatGPT moment for music, but made social, made legal, and made fun.
Why Now? Because Music Creation Just Became a Superpower
In the last year, GenAI crossed an invisible threshold. Suddenly anyone ( not just producers ) can create something musical and original with a sentence. But here’s the truth: creating alone isn’t enough.
Just like Midjourney exploded when image generation became social inside Discord, and Sora 2 took off when video creation lived inside a shared feed, music creation becomes exponentially more exciting when you make it with people.
People don’t just want tools.
They want audiences. They want friends reacting in real time. They want to drop something original between the hits.
That’s what Turntable.AI unlocks.
Create Between the Hits
Inside any Hangout room, you’ll now see a new purple button: Generate Music.
Tap it, describe the vibe.
“Upbeat funk‑pop about sunrises,”
or “thrash metal ode to my cat Muffins,”
or “neo‑soul transition from bluegrass to pop.”
In seconds, Turntable.AI generates a fully original track, trained on fully licensed data, ready to drop right into your queue.
You can:
- Preview it
- Edit segments
- Regenerate parts
- Save it
- Add it directly to your DJ queue
- Share it in the room so others can remix it
It’s your own pocket-sized music studio, right next to the songs you already love.
Listening and creating finally live together: in one room, one queue.
Built on a Licensed Global Music Catalog
Most GenAI music experiments today are… let’s be honest… unlicensed.
Turntable.AI is different.
We’ve secured licensing across many labels and publishers to train, generate, and compensate artists properly. Every generation pays rights‑holders. Every training set is cleared. Everything is above board.
Why?
Because the future of music shouldn’t come at the expense of the people who make it.
And because building this responsibly lets us innovate with our partners.
We’re still early, but even training on a tiny slice of the world’s catalog has produced quality and variety that surprised even us. As we train on more, things will get wildly better.
2 Million Users, and Growing Fast
Months ago, Hangout.fm opened the doors.
Today, more than 2 million people have signed up.
And here’s what surprised us most:
90% of active users return to the same room with the same people.
We’re seeing micro‑communities form: virtual clubs, DJ crews, late‑night listening sessions, friend groups who run residencies and battles and AMAs. It feels a lot like Roblox culture, where people “just hang out,” except here, the shared activity is music.
People aren’t escaping into algorithms.
They’re showing up for each other.
Turntable.AI builds on that energy.
A Product Tour — What’s Live Today
1. Be a DJ and a Producer — at the Same Time
Play your favorite licensed songs.
Generate your own.
Blend them.
Surprise your room.
React in real time.
2. AI Music Generation (30s to 3 minutes)
Describe your song → get an original track → preview or refine → drop it into the queue.
Screenshots you shared will map naturally here:
- The “Describe your song” composer view
- Recently generated projects
- Segment editing UI
- The queue with AI + real songs side-by-side
- The live Hangout stage with avatars and effects
- “Invite a friend” and virtual goods (dancing bears, disco balls, fireworks)
3. Social Rooms Built for Music
Take turns at the decks.
Host parties.
Run AMAs or listening sessions.
Chat, vote, cheer, throw virtual effects.
4. Save, Share, Replay
Keep your favorite creations.
Share them with your room.
Build highlights and playlists.
This is the first time listening and creation have lived together as part of one social loop.
How We Got Here (A Personal Note)
I’ve been dreaming of this since 2010.
Back then, Turntable.fm showed the world that people craved social music: rooms, avatars, DJs, shared vibes, late‑night rabbit holes. But we didn’t have the right streaming licenses, and we definitely didn’t have AI powerful enough to help people create.
After Turntable, I went back to school for a PhD in AI (I dropped out), then joined Facebook to build mobile experiences alongside Zuck, then helped architect self‑driving car algorithms in C++ at Lyft.
All of it prepared me to come back to the same idea:
People should be able to create and share music together: legally, joyfully, instantly.
So a few years ago, I spent four years negotiating global music deals, rebuilding the platform from scratch, and preparing for this moment when AI would be good enough, fast enough, expressive enough for everyday creativity.
2025 is that moment.
Turntable.AI is the product I wish I had in 2010.
Why This Matters
Music listening and music making have lived in separate apps for decades.
Turntable.AI brings them together ( safely, legally, socially ) so anyone can go from fan to co‑creator with a single tap.
You’re not leaving Spotify to fiddle with a DAW.
You’re not exporting files.
You’re not mixing alone.
You’re creating inside a room with people, in real time, and the vibe never stops.
That’s the future of music.
Not just passive listening.
Not just solo creation.
But co‑creation a new layer of culture forming between the hits.
Rolling Out in December
We’ll be opening Turntable.AI to everyone early December.
Our newsroom partner will publish the exclusive first look, and shortly after, this post goes live with videos, screenshots, and a hands‑on guide so anyone can jump in and start creating.
This is just our first version. Thanks to The Human Protocol for sponsoring giving away 1 million free songs.
Over the next year, we’re adding:
- In‑place editing (like in‑painting for music)
- Hum‑to‑melody input
- More control over lyrics
- Transitions that adapt to your queue
- Voice models
- Longer compositions
- AI collaborations with your favorite artists
We’re still early, but the foundation is here.
And I think it’s going to change how people make and share music together.
See You in the Room
I’ll be hanging out in Turntable rooms over the next few weeks using Turntable.AI, creating transitions, trying weird prompts, and watching communities run with this.
Jump in, make something, and tag me. I’d love to hear it.
– Joseph
Founder, Turntable Labs