The real problem in AI music isn’t quality — it’s discovery

UPCHART was built on market research. In August 2025, we surveyed over 100 active AI music creators across platforms like Suno, Udio and Songer. One number stood out immediately:

73% said they believe their songs would be hits if they reached the right audience. 23% said their songs might be hits.

So in total, 96% of respondents felt they may have created a hit.

That’s not bravado. It’s not hype. And it’s not what you might expect in a space that’s still widely dismissed as “just AI.” It’s a signal. This isn’t about ego — it’s about exposure

When nearly every creator says 'my song could be a hit', what they’re really saying is:'I think my music is good — but I dont' know because no-one is hearing it.'

AI music creators are producing at unprecedented scale. In our survey alone:

1. Nearly half have already created 100+ tracks

2. 45% started making AI music in the last six months

3. 85% want to monetise or already are

This is not a hobbyist fringe. This is a fast-growing creative class generating more music than any traditional ecosystem was designed to handle. And yet, almost all of that music disappears into the void.

The missing piece: discovery

Creation is no longer the bottleneck. Discovery is. Creators told us their single biggest challenge isn’t tools, prompts, or models — it’s finding an audience. Listeners, meanwhile, face the opposite problem:

• Too much content

• No signal

• No trusted way to find the good stuff

That’s why another result matters just as much as the 96% stat:

• 78% say a dedicated AI music chart is important for discovery

• 51% want ratings and reviews

• 42% want listener analytics

In other words, creators don’t just want attention. They want feedback, ranking, context, and proof.

Hits don’t happen in a vacuum

Every “hit” in music history shares one thing: it was discovered, surfaced, shared, and validated.

Charts, playlists, radio, tastemakers — these weren’t optional extras. They were the system that allowed listeners to find what resonated. AI music doesn’t lack talent. It lacks that system.

Why this matters now

AI music is at the same stage YouTube creators were in the mid-2000s:

• Massive creative output

• No central discovery layer

• Quality buried under volume

Back then, the winners weren’t just the creators — they were the platforms that organised discovery. Today, AI music is waiting for the same thing.

So what does the 96% really tell us?

Not that everyone is a genius. Not that every song is a hit. It tells us that there is a huge amount of belief, ambition, and creative energy, but no reliable way for the market (listeners) to decide what rises.

That gap between creation and discovery is where the next generation of music platforms will be built. And that’s exactly the problem we’re working, with your help, to solve.

Mark Devlin is the CEO of UPCHART.

PS: In my next post, I'll talk about another amazing stat from our research: Can you guess how many AI music creators have musical experience before using AI?