Apple Music to show 'Made With AI' labels on songs

Apple Music will begin showing visible “Made With AI” labels on songs later this year, turning a behind-the-scenes disclosure system into one that listeners can see. The labels will be required when AI created a material portion of a track, including songs that are primarily derived from a generative AI service. Apple said record labels and distributors must tag any piece of content that was materially generated using AI. The company said content providers are important partners because they are best placed to know how music was created and which AI Transparency Tags should be used. Apple introduced AI Transparency Tags in March. That system tells Apple Music’s systems whether a track used AI, and Billboard reported that it requires disclosure when and where AI is used in a material way, including artwork, track composition and music video. The new visible labels would make those tags apparent to users rather than leaving them in Apple’s content delivery feed. The company did not give a specific launch date. The Hollywood Reporter said Apple’s email said only that the labels would arrive later this year, and defined AI-platform-generated content as anything primarily derived from a generative AI service. It also reported that the policy shift is part of Apple Music’s effort to address AI-related fraud and streaming manipulation. Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser told Billboard earlier this year that more than a third of the tracks uploaded to the service were 100% AI, though AI music accounted for below 0.5% of usage. He also said Apple has in-house detection software that can screen songs, identify how AI was used and determine which models created them, but that the people uploading tracks must take responsibility for disclosure. As covered in an earlier report on Spotify’s AI Persona badges, the platforms have taken different approaches to surface synthetic music. Variety said Spotify plans to label AI-generated artist profiles, while Tidal labels AI music and keeps those tracks from earning royalties. Outside streaming, a coalition led by the RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys and SAG-AFTRA has already called for track-level labels for AI-Generated and AI-Assisted songs.