Universal, Sony and Warner back chart rules to curb AI music fraud

A coalition led by Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group has proposed new rules for when tracks made with generative AI should count on music charts. Under the plan, a song would need to use properly authorized and lawful music, be substantially human-made, avoid concerns about stream or chart manipulation, and disclose on platforms that generative AI was used. Variety identified the other members of the coalition as Believe, BMG, Concord, Dirty Hit, Glassnote Records, HYBE Corp., Mom+Pop Music and Partisan Records. The group said the framework is meant to draw “a clear boundary between human-led creativity and works that are purely synthetic or generated by unauthorized AI models,” and to ensure that tracks with fraudulently boosted stream counts are not celebrated by the charts. That does not amount to a blanket ban on AI. The Hollywood Reporter said a primarily human-created song can still qualify if AI is used lawfully as a supplemental tool. AI-generated tracks and artists have already appeared on Billboard charts, including the Hot Gospel Songs chart and the Hot R&B charts, though none have broken onto the Hot 100. The Hollywood Reporter cited Breaking Rust, an AI country act that reached the country digital sales chart last year, where only about a thousand sales can be enough to rank. The move comes against the backdrop of the majors’ wider legal fight with AI music companies. The labels sued Suno and Udio in June 2024, arguing that AI music could saturate the market and drown out genuine sound recordings. Universal Music Group settled with Udio in the past year, Warner Music Group settled with both Suno and Udio, and Sony had not reached a deal with either company. Earlier in the month, a separate industry coalition including the RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys and SAG-AFTRA proposed a voluntary labeling system for songs produced wholly or substantially with AI. The chart proposal is aimed at what counts in official rankings, rather than listener-facing transparency tags. Marketplace reported that Deezer says 90,000 tracks are uploaded each day and that nearly half are generative AI music, with a majority of those AI tracks described as fraudulent. It said the chart framework sets three conditions for eligibility and would be adopted by chart companies only if they chose to accept it.