Survey on the Evaluation of Generative Models in Music

Alexander Lerch, Claire Arthur, Nick Bryan-Kinns, Corey Ford, Qianyi Sun, Ashvala Vinay

Published: 2025/6/5

Abstract

Research on generative systems in music has seen considerable attention and growth in recent years. A variety of attempts have been made to systematically evaluate such systems. We present an interdisciplinary review of the common evaluation targets, methodologies, and metrics for the evaluation of both system output and model use, covering subjective and objective approaches, qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as empirical and computational methods. We examine the benefits and limitations of these approaches from a musicological, an engineering, and an HCI perspective.