AIVA: reviews and analysis

TLDR: AIVA writes instrumental pieces from a catalogue style, from an influence you upload, or from a style model you build yourself, and it hands back MP3 and MIDI even on the free tier. It costs from 11 euros a month billed annually, and what decides the purchase sits in another column of the table: on Free and Standard the copyright in what you generate stays with AIVA, and only the Pro plan signs it over to you.

What AIVA is and how it works

AIVA composes instrumental music and delivers the result in MIDI as well as audio. Its site describes an assistant that generates tracks in “more than 250 different styles”, and that figure describes the approach well: you choose a stylistic mould and the system composes inside it.

There are three ways in, and knowing which one you will use is worth the minute it takes before you pay. The first is the style catalogue, the fast route. The second is uploading an audio or MIDI influence, which the site offers as an option, so a rough sketch of your own can be the brief instead of a genre label. The third is building your own style models, which is what turns this into something reusable: you define a project’s palette once and compose against it as often as the project needs.

The output format is what separates AIVA from the rest of the content-music field. Its plan table lists MP3 and MIDI downloads on the free tier and holds high-quality WAV back for Pro. Getting MIDI means getting the notes, so the piece opens in your sequencer, the instrumentation changes, a bar stretches and half of it goes in the bin. Compared with the AI background music tools that return a sealed mix, the material here stays workable afterwards. It runs as a web service and has Mac and Windows apps.

What using it is like day to day

The counter that paces the month is downloads. The pricing table sets three a month on the free tier, fifteen on Standard and three hundred on Pro. On how many pieces you can generate the site says nothing, so that download figure is the only number you can plan against, and counting how many finished pieces the project needs belongs before you choose a tier.

Track length is tiered too, and the page details it per plan: up to 3 minutes on the free tier, up to 5 minutes on Standard and up to 5 minutes 30 seconds on Pro. That covers a sting or a short video bed. A piece that has to run under something long needs its structure assembled elsewhere, which is where the MIDI export earns its place a second time.

One practical consequence of that ladder shows up late. On Standard you can monetise on social channels, but the best audio file you take away is MP3, because WAV is listed as a Pro feature. With MIDI in hand there is a way around it, since you can render the piece with your own instruments and produce the WAV yourself. Without a sequencer and virtual instruments there is no way around it, and you publish compressed.

Pricing and plans

The model is freemium and starts from 11 euros a month. The free tier sits at 0 euros with three downloads a month in MP3 and MIDI, no monetisation and a credit to AIVA required. Standard is listed at 11 euros a month billed annually, moves to fifteen downloads, drops the credit requirement and opens what the vendor itself calls limited monetisation, fenced to YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram. Pro is listed at 33 euros a month billed annually, with three hundred downloads, all file formats including WAV, and full monetisation.

The limit that stings is buried in that ladder and has nothing to do with the download count. On both Free and Standard the same table says copyright is owned by AIVA, and only on Pro does it say the copyright is yours. You can be paying and still not own the music you publish. If the work is a client ad, a series, or any commission where somebody will ask about the rights chain, the entry tier does not do the job however good the audio sounds.

Who it is for (and who should look elsewhere)

It fits squarely if you write instrumental music and want to keep shaping it: video and game scores, brand music, sketches you intend to arrange properly later. It also fits if you need the ownership question answered in writing and can afford the Pro tier, because its table states who holds the copyright at each level and leaves nothing to interpretation.

Look elsewhere if what you need is a song with a sung vocal, because AIVA does not do that job and Suno does, though it is no substitute here since it delivers a finished song rather than material to keep working on. Look elsewhere too if you publish high volume on a small budget, because fifteen downloads a month on the middle tier disappear fast on a daily channel. And rule it out when your budget stops at the entry plan but your use requires ownership, which is the combination that causes the most grief.

Alternatives to AIVA

SOUNDRAW answers the same music-under-content brief by letting you adjust the piece by energy and by sections, while Beatoven.ai syncs the track to video and to an exact duration, which is a different way of fitting music to an edit. Stable Audio covers similar ground with a prompt-driven approach and a free entry tier. If you also want releases on streaming platforms without arranging distribution yourself, Loudly covers that stretch, which AIVA leaves out. The full picture is in the AIVA alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use AIVA’s music in a monetised video?

It depends on the plan. The table marks the free tier as non-monetisable with mandatory credit, Standard as limited monetisation across YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram, and Pro as full monetisation.

Do I own the music it generates?

Only on Pro. The plan page states that copyright is owned by AIVA on Free and Standard, and owned by the user on Pro.

Does it export MIDI or only audio?

MP3 and MIDI from the free tier onwards. High-quality WAV is listed as a Pro feature, alongside downloading in all file formats.

How much does AIVA cost?

From 11 euros a month billed annually on the Standard plan. There is a free tier, and the site shows Pro at 33 euros a month billed annually.

How many tracks can I download per month?

Three on the free tier, fifteen on Standard and three hundred on Pro.

How long can a track be?

Its plan table lists up to 3 minutes on the free tier, up to 5 minutes on Standard and up to 5 minutes 30 seconds on Pro.