Apple Music to Label AI-Generated Tracks
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Apple Music announced it will add "Made With AI" labels to tracks derived from AI platforms, rolling out later this year in a note to industry partners viewed by Variety
- Record labels and distributors will be required to tag songs where "a material portion of the content" was created using AI, with Apple saying partners "are best positioned to know how their content was created"
- Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser told Billboard earlier this year that "more than a third" of tracks uploaded to the platform were "100% AI," and said uploaders must "take responsibility" for AI disclosure
- The labels follow Apple's March introduction of AI Transparency Tagging, the backend system that determines whether a track used AI
- Spotify has labeled AI-generated artist profiles as "AI Personas," while Tidal has banned AI music from accruing royalties — a stricter approach than Apple's forthcoming labels
- RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys, and SAG-AFTRA jointly advocated last month for a new labeling program to flag AI-produced songs
- The music industry has spent three years responding to AI music generators like Suno and Udio through litigation, licensing deals, and competing tools such as remixing products
Why it matters: Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser disclosed that "more than a third" of uploaded tracks are "100% AI," making this labeling mandate a response to massive AI infiltration on the platform. Apple is pushing tagging obligations onto labels and distributors — the parties it says "are best positioned to know how their content was created" — rather than relying solely on its in-house detection software.
Ask SkimNews
