Google Flow Music now lets producers export a custom Space as a VST3 or AU plugin and run it inside their DAW, the company announced Oct. 6. Spaces, which until now lived in the browser, let creators build their own instruments and effects by describing what they want in natural language, with no coding required. Google is pitching the result as vibe coding for music production tools.
The first example is from Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Khris Riddick-Tynes, whose credits include major records with SZA, Akon, Ariana Grande, and Drake and Jay-Z.
His plugin, called "No Chaser," is designed to keep his instrumentals and vocals sharp and studio-quality no matter where they were recorded, according to Google. Here is a short video of it.
Riddick-Tynes told Zinstrel he was the first person to use the feature. He sees it as a tool for people who already know what they want from a record.
"This is a VST," he said. "This is for nerds, or people who want to be nerds and don't know how to code."
Among other producers he has shown it to, he said, the reaction has been enthusiastic.
"Everybody gets a kick out of it. They're like, 'Why hasn't anybody thought of this?' This is actually something for us to actually use, not abuse."
The other appeal is speed. "You get a new idea, you don't have to wait for a new version to come out," he said. "You just communicate it to the system and then work through it."
Google Flow Music's Kendall Rankin, in charge of Community + Artist Engagements, told Zinstrel the export is available even on free accounts.
The feature instantly puts pressure on the plugin market. A free, plain-language route to a custom instrument or effect lands directly on the shelf that plugin companies sell from, and many of them will be watching closely.
Asked about the impact on toolmakers, Rankin framed the feature as an addition, not a replacement.
"We want to be additive, right? We have artists at the center. And so whatever we can do to make artists more efficient, more creative, just create their best work and have the tools to do that, that's what we're about. I wish everyone the best."
More from Riddick-Tynes, and from other working professionals on how AI fits into their process, will appear in Wednesday's Zinstrel Culture edition.
Disclosure: Google arranged the Riddick-Tynes interview, and a Google Flow Music representative joined the call. Zinstrel has no sponsorship arrangement with Google Flow Music.