Getting Started Updated September 28, 2026 4 min
Music, Lite or Sound: choosing a mode
Every project starts with a mode. All three produce a long-form, YouTube-ready video — they differ in how the audio is made and how many unique visuals you get, which is also what drives the credit cost.
When you start a project you'll see two cards: Music and Sound. Lite is offered on the Idea step once a Music-mode video is 2 hours or longer (35+ tracks), and Surprise Me can pick it for you too. Ideas from Surprise Me and from our research report come with the mode and length already set, and a sound idea from the report opens Sound mode directly.
| Music mode | Lite mode | Sound mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio | Unique AI melodies (~3.5 min each) | Unique AI melodies | One 30-second AI soundscape (rain, fire, waves...), repeated for the whole video |
| Visuals | A matching image + animated loop for every track | One 10-second loop for the whole video (you pick 1 of 4 images; the loop can be regenerated) | One 10-second loop for the whole video (you pick 1 of 4 images) |
| Cost | 1 credit per track (~20 credits ≈ 1 hour) | 8 credits per hour | 1 credit per 15 minutes (4 credits ≈ 1 hour) |
| Best for | Flagship lo-fi / jazz / piano videos where scenes change with the music | Music videos on a budget — unique soundtrack, single scene | Listening: sleep, focus, meditation and background ambience (rain, white noise, nature) |
Rules of thumb
- Building a music channel? Use Music mode for your anchor uploads and Lite mode to publish more often between them.
- Need hours of sleep or focus sound? Sound mode gives you a 10-hour video for 40 credits — the best cost per hour on the platform. It's made for listening, not for monetized channels.
- Just trying the platform? A 30-minute Sound-mode video costs just 2 credits — a cheap way to see the whole workflow before you invest in Music mode.
- Running a monetized channel? We recommend Music mode (Lite keeps the same original music): a single soundscape repeated for hours doesn't suit YouTube's monetization rules for varied content. Monetization is never guaranteed either way — YouTube decides. See Licensing & monetization.
Every plan can make videos up to 10 hours with up to 150 tracks — your credits are the only limit. Details in Plans & billing.
Deep dives: Music mode guide, Lite mode guide, Sound mode guide.
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