Over the past months I’ve been watching an explosion of AI platforms focused on music creation. Some are interesting, some feel rushed… and then there is OpenBeat AI, easily one of the most questionable cases I’ve come across.
In this article, I want to break down everything I discovered after digging deep: from their claims about “ethical sourcing,” to the suspicious similarities with Suno, all the way to the most problematic part — undisclosed sponsorships from popular YouTubers.
Introduction: Why I Decided to Investigate
I first noticed OpenBeat AI when multiple creators started praising it with almost suspicious enthusiasm — yet none of them clearly stated whether their videos were sponsored or not. That alone made me curious.
Then I visited the website. That’s when things got worse.
Vague terms of service, big claims about “ethical training,” and very little technical explanation on how their model actually works.
As someone who works professionally in music production, I know how important transparency is — especially when AI is involved.
The music industry is already navigating a complicated moment, and the last thing we need is platforms hiding how they’re training their algorithms.
The “Ethical Provenance” Problem
OpenBeat claims that its model was trained ethically using fully licensed material. In the AI music world, this is called ethical sourcing — meaning all training data is consented and legally cleared.
Sounds great on paper.
But in reality?
There is zero verifiable evidence.
The information is buried in a barely visible section of the website. They mention working with “My Guy Mars” — a respected musician — and a mysterious internal team, but no real details, no dataset documentation, no licensing info, nothing.
Their so-called “behind the scenes” training video provides no technical insight at all. Just aesthetic shots with no explanation.
For a platform claiming ethical transparency, it’s a very bad look.
The Test: Is OpenBeat Just Using Suno?
To verify what was really happening, I ran some direct comparisons.
Here’s what I found:
- Prompts entered in OpenBeat and Suno produced nearly identical results.
- Uploading the same beat to both platforms generated tracks that sounded almost the same.
- The overall audio quality felt too similar to Suno to be the result of a proprietary model.
Then came the smoking gun.
A Discord user discovered that OpenBeat is simply sending your prompts to Suno’s public API, then delivering the Suno output back to you.
The generated files were even hosted on Suno’s servers.
This means:
- OpenBeat does not have its own model
- Their “ethical sourcing” claim is false
- Users are paying for a service that is basically a disguised pass-through to Suno
It’s one of the most bizarre and misleading uses of AI I’ve seen in the music space.
Terms of Service: Red Flags Everywhere
Reading their Terms of Service raised even more concerns:
- You can use the generated audio commercially,
but you don’t actually own the copyright. - OpenBeat does not guarantee the music is original or free of similarities.
- Any legal responsibility falls entirely on the user.
- You cannot join class-action lawsuits against the company.
That last clause is especially alarming.
A transparent company does not need to pre-emptively block users from protecting themselves.
Undisclosed Sponsorships: The Bigger Issue
Several well-known YouTube creators in the music production space — DJ Payne, Ad McCree, Bolo, and Larry O — have been heavily promoting OpenBeat AI.
Many of them use:
- discount codes
- giveaways
- repeated positive mentions
- free licenses provided by the company
The problem?
Almost none of them clearly disclose that these videos are sponsored, either verbally or in the description.
This goes against FTC rules, which require explicit disclosure that is visible, immediate, and unambiguous.
Only DJ Payne used the “paid promotion” tag, but even that was barely noticeable.
Lack of transparency isn’t just annoying —
it’s deceptive and potentially illegal.
Final Thoughts: Why This Case Matters
OpenBeat AI represents a dangerous mix of:
- misleading marketing
- fake transparency
- uncredited use of third-party technology
- creators hiding sponsorships
- terms of service that shift all risk onto the user
For anyone working in music — or anyone who cares about ethical technology — this situation cannot be ignored.
Personally, I will never recommend OpenBeat AI on my blog or my YouTube channel.
Quite the opposite: I think cases like this should be exposed so that users can make informed decisions.
AI in music can be an incredible tool, but only when there is honesty behind it.
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