Splice, a leading music creation platform known for its library of royalty-free sound samples, has launched a new integration with Avid’s Pro Tools. The partnership brings Splice’s advanced sample discovery tools directly into software widely regarded as the gold standard for digital audio workstations (DAWs) since its debut in 1991.
“For the last year and a half, we’ve been on this journey to be closer and closer to the creative process,” Kakul Srivastava, CEO of Splice, tells Billboard. “Listening to our customers, getting user feedback and testing a whole bunch of things, they’re saying, ‘What you’re doing is great — but it would be even better if it were right in my creative workflow.’” Splice listened, and now producers have access to Splice without the disruption of leaving their session in Pro Tools.
The collaboration includes features designed to supercharge the creative process for music makers. Chief among them is “Search with Sound,” which uses AI-driven technology to match Splice samples with the harmonic and rhythmic characteristics of audio already in the user’s session. Other features include seamless auditioning, which enables the preview of sounds, and drag-and-drop functionality for easy sample placement.
As part of the Pro Tools release, Splice has partnered with songwriters and producers such as Suzy Shine (Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys), Rob Grimaldi (BLACKPINK, BTS) and Oak Felder (Rihanna, Lizzo). For Grimaldi, the integration of Splice into Pro Tools improves his workflow. “Being able to drag audio I created into Splice and instantly hear suggestions that are in key and actually fit the vibe right in the DAW is incredible,” Grimaldi said in a statement. “It’s not just convenient, it keeps me in the zone and pushes me to experiment with fresh sounds.”
Pro Tools and Splice bring complementary strengths to the table, says Chris Winsor, director of Pro Tools product management at Avid. “By integrating Splice’s sound library and discovery tools directly into Pro Tools, we’re giving music makers seamless access to the sounds they need without disrupting their creative flow,” he said in a statement.
This integration is not Splice’s first foray into the world of digital audio workstations (DAWs). In 2024, the company partnered with PreSonus’ Studio One to introduce similar features. But the Pro Tools partnership feels particularly monumental to Srivastava. “Pro Tools has been the leading tool in this space, and you could say they invented digital audio workstations,” she says. “Being part of the solution with them is like a dream come true.”
For Splice, this collaboration is part of a larger strategy to align its tools more closely with established workflows. Srivastava explains that Splice has spent significant time reflecting on the needs of its users, opting to enhance their capabilities within existing creative frameworks rather than disrupt them with entirely new systems.
Srivastava believes the potential for AI in music production lies not in generative AI — computer-created sounds — but in enabling creators to work faster and better without dulling their creative instincts. “It’s not about AI-generated content,” she continues. “That is not interesting to people, and it’s not even interesting to us. It’s about AI-generated tools, AI-enabled creative tools, so that creators have the ability to use AI to make the creative process better.”
Generative AI platforms that allow users to create music with a click of a button are “just deeply disrespectful to what artists do and the kinds of controls they need,” she continues. “Companies like Pro Tools have been building incredible, powerful, sophisticated tools for creative people for many, many years.”
While Pro Tools integration marks a major step forward, Srivastava suggests Splice’s journey is far from complete and hints that other collaborations and projects will further transform how musicians make music. “Watch the space,” she teases.
