Decoder with Nilay Patel

Episode: Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on Why Push-Button AI is “Insulting” to Musicians

Date: March 24, 2025
Host: Nilay Patel
Guest: Kakul Srivastava, CEO of Splice

Overview:

This episode explores the intersection of music creation, AI, and digital platforms with Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava. Nilay Patel delves deep into why Splice draws a “hard line” against push-button AI song creation, how they balance copyright and the creative process, and the evolving role of technology for musicians and producers. Srivastava shares her perspectives as a veteran of Adobe and GitHub, and provides an inside look at how Splice empowers creators—yet resists fully automated music-making.

Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. What is Splice? The Platform and Its Evolution

(05:29–08:17)

• Splice is a music creation platform focusing on musicians and music creators.
• Their main offering is a large, diverse, high-quality sample library. They send teams globally to capture unique sounds.
• Splice also provides AI-based creative tools, like Splice Mic, a mobile feature allowing users to hum an idea and have the app suggest samples to complement it.
• Quote:
  "We have this tagline, starts with sound…we provide them with probably the world’s most diverse, most high quality sonic palette."
  — Kakul Srivastava (05:30)

2. The Philosophy: Resisting Push-Button AI in Music

(06:36–11:28)

• Unlike Adobe (where Kakul previously worked), Splice intentionally avoids full automation (e.g., “write me a country song”).

• Musicians want creative control, not an app that “makes the song for them.” Push-button AI is not the vision; instead, tools must empower, not replace, the creative process.

• After launching ‘Create’, users reported it felt like “cheating” and asked for more control.

• Quote:
  "The last thing they want is someone to make the song for them…for our users, it’s really about the creative process."
  — Kakul Srivastava (07:20)

• Memorable moment: Kakul pushes back on the critique that “modern music is just putting a bunch of samples together," calling it reductive and emphasizing artistry in transforming and assembling sounds (08:53–09:50).

3. Copyright, Royalty-Free Models, and Ethics in AI Training

(11:28–16:51)

• Splice rigorously verifies provenance and quality of every sample; royalty-free model ensures clarity for creators and users (no downstream royalty drama even if a sample becomes a hit).
• The downside: sample creators do not share in post-hoc upside (“Espresso” example).
• Splice and its industry partners agree training AI on music should only use content rightsfully owned.
• Quote:
  "If you’re going to use content to train, you should train on content that you have rights to. It’s not okay to disrespect the rights of creators."
  — Kakul Srivastava (13:10)

4. Economics and Creator Sustainability on Splice

(14:25–17:33)

• Some creators do make their living from Splice, with incomes ranging up to hundreds of thousands a year.
• Growth is about increasing both contributors and subscribers, but Splice caps potential upside by being royalty-free.
• Quote:
  "For some people, they make hundreds of thousands of dollars. For some people, they’re building their own musical career and this is part of what they’re doing."
  — Kakul Srivastava (15:16)

5. Product Strategy and Integration

(21:00–29:44)

• Kakul draws on her Adobe, Flickr, and GitHub experience: data, content and metadata inform product development (over a million samples downloaded per day).
• Splice adds AI to augment, not replace, software like Pro Tools or Ableton. For example, integrating with Studio One allows Splice to recommend relevant samples in-context.
• Splice aims to expand the creative process, not replace DAWs.
• Quote:
  "It’s not a zero sum game…[we ask] how do we expand how much we’re part of the creative journey in different ways."
  — Kakul Srivastava (24:31)

6. Tech & Music: Similarities, Cultural Blending, and Organizational Structure

(29:44–37:34)

• Many Splice engineers are also musicians; overlap in creative, “mathy” thinking between the two groups.
• Splice is “fundamentally a product company” with product/dev as largest org, followed by content (sound-gathering, QC, ingestion), and a data org reporting directly to Kakul (32:19–33:49).
• Quality control and curation for samples are crucial; Splice will not open the floodgates to all user-uploaded content.

7. Organizational Values and Decision-Making

(37:34–40:19)

• Kakul inherited and evolved Splice’s culture, creating “DISCO” values:
  • Direct, Inclusive, Spliced Together, Creator-Centric, Optimistic.
• Decision-making leans on data, user feedback, and a “listen deeply for clarity” approach.
• Quote:
  "I do see that [structure] is proxy for values… those are fundamental values that I want to bring and inculcate into the company."
  — Kakul Srivastava (37:34)

8. AI, the Creative Process, and Industry Tensions

(43:16–49:27)

• Nilay raises a push-button AI assertion from Suno CEO Mikey Schulman (“It is not really enjoyable to make music”), asking if Splice might someday cave to demand for instant song-making.
• Kakul’s response is powerful and emotional:
  • For true creators, the creative process—including struggle—is sacred and “profoundly important.”
  • Push-button creativity is “insulting, dismissive, reductive.”
• Quote:
  "To dismiss it by this push button set of tools is…insulting, it’s dismissive, it’s reductive. And I think creative people deserve better."
  — Kakul Srivastava (44:17)
• Even if data showed a demand for push-button solutions, Splice would listen to its core audience (creators), who want control, not automation.

9. AI Content, Consumer Perception, and Human Curation

(47:07–51:57)

• So far, consumers have not strongly rejected AI-generated music (unlike some backlash in visual arts), but Splice is seeing clear creator preference for real, human-made samples.
• Splice strictly does not allow AI-generated audio into its sample library, but isn’t opposed to creators using AI as a tool (e.g., for mastering).
• The focus remains on authentic collaboration, not mass-produced computer-generated sounds.
• Quote:
  "We are, in fact, investing in more human-created samples, human-curated samples."
  — Kakul Srivastava (47:46)

10. The Line: How Much AI is Too Much?

(54:16–58:17)

• The key Splice distinction: there must be an authentic human creator with a vision. Tech (even AI) is acceptable as a tool, but not as sole author.
• Maintaining this boundary is done by having a personal relationship with sample contributors.
• Quote:
  "That distinction is very important…is it AI-generated or was AI used as a tool to bring a human creator’s idea to life?"
  — Kakul Srivastava (55:14)

11. Impersonation, Copyright, and Legal Uncertainty

(58:17–66:02)

• Splice steers clear of voice impersonation and soundalikes. They focus on helping creators find authentic voices.

• Discussion of blurred lines in copyright (e.g., “Blurred Lines” legal case), AI models trained on copyrighted data, and copyright lawsuits (Suno/Udio).

• Splice is part of ethical AI coalitions; only trains on material it has rights to and prohibits users from using Splice samples to train their own AI.

• Quote:
  "Ultimately, it’s always going to be about the creators first…that’s what governs our decisions around clean training data, ethical AI, etc."
  — Kakul Srivastava (63:33)

• Kakul expresses uncertainty about the future of fair use and AI (“We are in uncharted territory…”), and declines to prescribe a legal solution. Her focus is keeping Splice’s creator-centric ethos intact as the broader industry struggles with these questions.

12. What’s Next for Splice?

(66:43–67:12)

• Ongoing focus: Going deeper into the creative process, more partnerships and integrations with DAWs, enhanced tools for creative flexibility, and continuing to keep creators at the core.
• Quote:
  "We’re going to keep going deeper into the creative process…users keep telling us, I love Splice. I want you deeper in my creative process."
  — Kakul Srivastava (66:43)

Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• “The creative process is essential for people who create…To dismiss it by this push button set of tools is…insulting, it’s dismissive, it’s reductive.”
  — Kakul Srivastava (44:17)

• "If you're going to use content to train, you should train on content that you have rights to. It's not okay to disrespect the rights of creators."
  — Kakul Srivastava (13:10)

• “We have to maintain that high quality, especially in the age of AI…It’s never going to be that way for us.”
  — Kakul Srivastava (34:39)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:29: What is Splice? & the modern music-making landscape
• 07:12: Splice’s stance against push-button AI
• 13:10: Training AI on rights-owned content only
• 15:11: Economic realities for sample creators
• 24:31: Splice’s pursuit to expand, not replace, DAWs
• 32:19: Organizational structure – Product, Content, Data
• 37:34: “DISCO” values and cultural evolution
• 44:17: Why AI song generators are “insulting”
• 47:46: Human-made samples vs. AI-generated
• 55:14: Differentiating AI as tool vs. AI as author
• 63:33: Clean training data and creator rights
• 66:43: The future direction of Splice

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Splice's Mission: Empower music creators with high-quality tools and sounds, prioritizing artistry, control, and ethical practices.
• Firm Lines: Splice resists full AI automation of music creation and strictly curates its sample library, requiring a human creative spark.
• Navigating Legal and Industry Shifts: As AI upends music, Splice navigates copyright, attribution, and ethics by leaning into transparency and supporting creators.
• Vision Forward: Splice will deepen its product integrations and creative support, always centering musicians—not just consumers—at the heart of its strategy.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the future of creative tools, the nuanced debate around AI in music creation, and the real-world challenges of protecting and empowering artists in the digital era.