audio model · musicgen · macOS
Can I run MusicGen small on Apple M2 (16GB)?
Yes. MusicGen small runs on Apple M2 (16GB) at fp32 (~3 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).
Runs at fp32 using ~3 GB of ~10.5 GB usable.
- Peak memory
- ~3 GB
- Usable on device
- ~10.5 GB
- Device memory
- 16 GB
- Quant
- fp32
How to run it
Use AudioCraft or HF Transformers at fp32. It loads as a single model and runs on a GPU.
- Type
- Music generation
- Parameters
- 300M
- Peak memory
- ~3 GB at fp32
- License
- CC-BY-NC-4.0
- Memory
- 16 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~10.5 GB
- Best runtime
- Ollama (llama.cpp Metal backend) / MLX
You could also run
Run MusicGen small on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M2 (16GB) run MusicGen small?
Yes. MusicGen small runs on Apple M2 (16GB) at fp32 (~3 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).
How much memory does MusicGen small need?
Apple M2 (16GB) has room to spare. At fp32 the realistic peak is ~3 GB of memory.
What do I use to run MusicGen small locally?
MusicGen small runs in AudioCraft or HF Transformers. It needs a GPU.
Sources
VRAM figures are sourced peak-usage anchors at the noted quant, validated 2026-06-15. See methodology.