Labels Want AI Music to Be 'Human Made' to Chart
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- A coalition of record labels including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, Believe, BMG, Concord, Dirty Hit, Glassnote Records, HYBE Corp., Mom+Pop Music, and Partisan Records proposed Wednesday that AI-generated music must be 'substantially human made' to chart.
- The proposed framework requires qualifying tracks to use AI services that are 'properly authorised and lawful,' raise no concerns about stream or chart manipulation, and disclose generative AI use on platforms.
- The coalition said the guidelines would 'establish a clear boundary between human-led creativity and works that are purely synthetic or generated by unauthorized AI models.'
- Suno and Udio face lawsuits from many coalition members, which allege the generative music platforms trained models on the labels' copyrighted tracks.
- AI-generated tracks and artists have already appeared on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs and Hot R&B charts, though none have broken onto the Hot 100.
- The RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys, and SAG-AFTRA proposed a separate AI-disclosure labeling program earlier this month to flag songs produced wholly or substantially with AI.
Why it matters: The chart-eligibility rule isn't hypothetical—AI tracks and artists have already landed on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs and Hot R&B charts. For the 13-label coalition, the proposal doubles as gatekeeping against Suno and Udio, the AI music platforms many of them are simultaneously suing over training data.
