Apple Music to tell users if they’re listening to music made with AI

Apple Music will let users know if the music they’re listening to was made using AI.  

Music Business Worldwide reported that Apple shared a newsletter with industry partners that revealed details about the new 'Transparency Tags' that will be rolled out on Apple Music.

The label or distributor will have to declare if AI has been used in the music, lyrics, music video, or artwork.

Currently, the label or distributor needs to manually disclose if they want the app to flag when AI has been used. The new newsletter from Apple suggests it will soon be "required" when uploading new content to the streaming platform.

The "track tag" will be used to label music that has used AI to generate a material portion of a sound recording, while the "composition tag" will cover AI-generated lyrics or other compositional elements. Multiple tags can be applied simultaneously.​

“Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and we believe labels and distributors must take an active role in reporting when the content they deliver is created using AI,” Apple said in the newsletter. 

Apple said that the tagging requirements make “a concrete first step toward the transparency necessary for the industry to establish best practices and policies that work for everyone.”

However, as Music Business Worldwide says, the responsibility to report if AI has been used in uploaded music is solely on labels and rights holders to declare. 

It's not clear when the transparency tags will be rolled out and whether there will be repercussions for those who do not disclose that AI was used.

Music streaming platform Deezer has been building its own AI detection infrastructure, claiming to be the “only music streaming platform to explicitly tag AI-generated music” in the world. 

​Meanwhile, online music distribution platform Bandcamp has banned AI entirely, pledging to “keep Bandcamp human.” 

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, and YouTube for the latest music and events content.  

Header image credit: Mariia Shalabaieva / Unsplash.com 

Body image credit: Brett Jordan / Unsplash.com