Amper Music (now part of Shutterstock)

Amper Music was a pioneer in the AI music generation space, known for its high degree of user control and early focus on an enterprise API. Acquired by Shutterstock, its technology now powers features within the Shutterstock ecosystem and is offered as an API solution for businesses. While its standalone consumer-facing product is less prominent than in the past, its legacy and underlying technology are significant. Amper's distinguishing feature was its emphasis on controllability: users could set key, tempo, instrumentation, and structure with precision, and the AI would generate music to those exact specifications. This made it a favorite for professional scoring applications where specific timing or mood was critical. Today, its value is primarily for developers and enterprises looking to integrate customizable music generation into their own platforms via API. For the average user, tools like Suno or Soundraw offer a more polished experience, but Amper's DNA of precise control lives on in the B2B and developer space, influencing how AI music is integrated into larger creative and commercial workflows.