Amper Music
Pioneer enterprise AI music composer — acquired by Shutterstock in 2020
Amper Music was one of the first enterprise-grade AI music composition platforms, founded in 2014 in New York. It allowed businesses, filmmakers, and developers to generate custom, royalty-free music tracks by specifying mood, genre, tempo, and instrumentation. The AI would compose a unique piece in seconds. After Shutterstock acquired Amper in 2020, the standalone product was shut down and the technology was integrated into Shutterstock Music. Amper was a trailblazer that helped define the category of AI music generation now occupied by tools like Soundful, Mubert, and Soundraw.
Visit Shutterstock Music (Successor)What Was Amper Music?
Amper Music was one of the earliest and most influential AI music composition platforms. Founded in 2014 by Drew Silverstein, Michael Hobe, and Sam Estes — all film composers and musicians — Amper was built with a clear thesis: AI could democratize music production by making professional-quality custom music accessible to anyone without musical training or a composition budget. At its core was a deep learning model trained on a vast library of musical patterns, structures, and arrangements that could generate original compositions in response to user-defined parameters.
The user experience was straightforward. You would select a genre (cinematic, upbeat electronic, acoustic, hip-hop, etc.), choose a mood (intense, happy, melancholic, tense), set a tempo and duration, and click generate. In seconds, Amper would produce a fully arranged, multi-instrument track with no two outputs being identical. The composition was genuinely unique — not a remixed loop or a rearranged sample, but an algorithmically composed piece that could be exported as a WAV or MP3 with a royalty-free commercial license.
Amper also offered a web-based customization interface where users could drill down into the arrangement and modify individual elements: swap out an instrument, extend a section, add a drop, or change the overall energy arc. This gave content creators enough control to match the music precisely to a video timeline without hiring an editor. The enterprise API was another key differentiator, allowing media platforms, video editors, and app developers to integrate Amper’s generation engine directly into their workflows at scale.
Shutterstock’s acquisition of Amper in October 2020 was a significant validation of the AI music market. Shutterstock paid an undisclosed price to bring Amper’s team and technology in-house, integrating the AI generation capabilities into Shutterstock Music. The standalone Amper platform was gradually wound down following the acquisition. Today, Amper’s legacy lives on in the generation of AI music tools it helped inspire, including Soundful, Mubert, Soundraw, and Aiva.
What Amper Music Offered
AI Music Generation
Generated unique, original music tracks based on mood, genre, tempo, and duration inputs. No two outputs were identical — true algorithmic composition, not loop remixing.
Arrangement Customization
After generation, users could modify the arrangement: swap instruments, extend sections, adjust energy levels, and fine-tune the composition to match a video timeline.
Commercial Licensing
All generated tracks came with a royalty-free commercial license, eliminating per-use sync fees for advertising, film, YouTube, and corporate video content.
Enterprise API
A developer API allowed media platforms, video editors, and SaaS products to integrate Amper’s generation engine directly, enabling scalable AI music for business applications.
Enterprise Focus
Tailored for media companies, advertising agencies, and production studios needing large volumes of custom background music without composer costs.
Fast Generation
Tracks generated in seconds rather than hours or days. Enabled rapid iteration for video producers who needed to test multiple music options quickly.
Historical Pricing (At Time of Operation)
When Amper was active, it offered the following plans. These are historical and no longer available.
| Plan | Price (Historical) | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Discontinued | Limited generations per month, watermarked exports |
| Basic | ~$11.99/mo | Discontinued | Unlimited generations, royalty-free commercial license |
| Professional | ~$24.99/mo | Discontinued | Higher export quality, priority support, more customization |
| Enterprise API | Custom | Discontinued | Volume-based API pricing for platform integrations |
Amper Music is no longer available. See Shutterstock Music for the successor platform or explore alternatives below.
Best Amper Music Alternatives in 2026
Since Amper is no longer available, here are the best current AI music generation tools that offer similar or superior capabilities.
Soundful
The closest functional replacement for Amper: AI generates background music from genre and mood inputs with commercial licensing. Royalty-free tracks for video, content, and business use.
Mubert
AI generative music platform with an API similar to what Amper offered for enterprise. Streams unique music in real time for content creators, apps, and games.
Soundraw
AI music generator optimized for video content creators. Select mood, genre, and length; the AI generates a track you can fine-tune at the bar level.
Aiva
AI composer specializing in cinematic and orchestral music — closer to Amper’s professional music quality for film and game scoring use cases.
Pros & Cons (Historical Assessment)
What Amper Did Well
- Pioneer in AI music generation that defined the category
- True algorithmic composition, not loop remixing — genuinely unique outputs
- Strong enterprise API for platform integrations at scale
- Arrangement customization gave users meaningful creative control
- Clean commercial licensing with no per-use sync fees
Amper’s Limitations
- Discontinued — no longer available as a standalone product
- Music quality, while good for AI, was not always indistinguishable from human composers
- Limited genre diversity compared to later AI music tools
- Enterprise pricing put it out of reach for individual creators
- Technology absorbed into Shutterstock, limiting continued innovation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Amper Music?
Amper Music was a pioneering enterprise AI music composition platform founded in 2014 by film composers Drew Silverstein, Michael Hobe, and Sam Estes. It generated unique, royalty-free music tracks from user-defined parameters like mood, genre, and tempo. Shutterstock acquired Amper in October 2020, and the standalone product was subsequently discontinued. Its AI technology now powers Shutterstock Music’s capabilities.
Is Amper Music still available?
No. Amper Music as a standalone product is no longer available. Following Shutterstock’s acquisition in 2020, the platform was wound down and the technology integrated into Shutterstock Music (shutterstock.com/music). You cannot create an Amper account or generate new tracks. For similar functionality today, look at Soundful, Mubert, Soundraw, or Aiva.
Why did Shutterstock acquire Amper Music?
Shutterstock acquired Amper in October 2020 to expand its content generation capabilities into AI music. The acquisition positioned Shutterstock as a full-service AI content provider across images, video footage, and music. Amper’s founding team — all professional composers — brought both the technical AI capabilities and deep music industry expertise that Shutterstock needed to build credible AI music products.
What were Amper Music’s key features?
Amper offered AI music generation from mood, genre, tempo, and duration inputs; post-generation arrangement customization (swapping instruments, adjusting sections); royalty-free commercial licensing on all generated tracks; an enterprise API for platform integrations; and fast generation speed (tracks ready in seconds). These features made it particularly valuable for advertising agencies, video production studios, and media platforms.
Who were Amper Music’s main customers?
Amper primarily served enterprise clients: media companies, advertising agencies, film and video production studios, and SaaS platforms that needed scalable, licensed background music. Individual content creators were a secondary market. The enterprise API was particularly important, allowing platforms to integrate AI music generation directly into their own tools and workflows.
What are the best alternatives to Amper Music now?
The best current alternatives are Soundful (closest to Amper’s mood/genre-based generation model), Mubert (generative streaming music with a developer API), Soundraw (AI music for video content creators with bar-level customization), Aiva (cinematic and orchestral AI composition), and Boomy (instant AI song generation with streaming distribution). Shutterstock Music itself also carries forward some of Amper’s capabilities.
Can I still use Amper-generated music I created before the shutdown?
Yes. If you downloaded your Amper-generated tracks while the platform was active, those files remain yours under the commercial license you received at the time of creation. You can continue using them according to the original license terms. The platform closure does not retroactively revoke licenses for tracks you already generated and downloaded during your Amper subscription period.
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