Music industry unveils AI labels to mark AI-generated music on streaming platforms

AI Labels Could Be Coming to Music Streaming Platforms Soon

Like virtually every other corner of the internet, music streaming services are awash in AI slop in recent years, thanks to the rise of cheaply accessible AI tools and a regulatory void. Now, a coalition of organizations representing musicians and record labels is trying to make it easier for listeners to at least know when a song has been generated by an LLM. Led by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the group is pushing streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music to adopt a consistent labeling system for identifying songs that were made using AI, according to a Friday report from the Wall Street Journal. The proposed labels would look similar to the label currently used to mark songs containing explicit content. They look a bit like tiles from the periodic table: One of them, designed for tracks generated entirely by AI, has a black background with "AI" written in big, white letters; another, made for songs created by humans who used AI for specific parts of the creative process, has a white background with "ai" in smaller letters. At this point, the coalition is not suggesting the adoption of labels that would mark AI-generated cover art or music videos, according to the WSJ report. The effort -- which is being backed by entertainment industry giants like the Grammys and SAG-Aftra -- is intended to add a measure of transparency around AI-generated music, not to suppress it entirely. It's the latest in a long history of organizations trying to come to terms with the rampant rise of online deepfakes. While European companies are required under the EU's AI Act to ensure that AI-generated "detectable as artificially generated or manipulated," no such governmental regulation currently exists in the U.S. That means the decision to label AI slop -- or not -- falls on the shoulders of American tech companies themselves. Some social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, can automatically apply labels to posts in which AI-generated content is detected. Elon Musk's X is infamously less stringent on this front, though that platform uses a "community notes" system, designed to allow users to call out AI slop if and when they see it. The late, controversial Sora app, which OpenAI shut down in April, also automatically applied a label to its AI-generated videos, though users quickly figured out creative ways to remove it. AI-generated music is notoriously harder to spot than AI-generated images. The latter includes static metadata that can be read by AI-detection algorithms relatively easily and is often addled with telltale markers, like extra fingers and warped letters. The metadata for AI-generated music, in contrast, is dynamic and fluctuating, making it easier to evade human or algorithmic detection. In 2024, a song featuring AI voice clones of Drake and The Weeknd blew up online, with millions of listeners mistaking it for an actual, entirely human-made track. The viral potential of AI-generated music was clearly too good a market opportunity for Spotify to pass up. Earlier this year, the streaming giant introduced a new feature enabling premium users to generate AI remixes of songs from participating artists. The feature, launched as part of Spotify's new partnership with Universal Music Group, was positioned as a means of empowering artists in the age of AI, giving them a chance to profit from the new generative AI wave rather than sitting idly by and letting it slowly eat up their streaming revenue. Spotify announced an "impersonation policy" in September, mandating that any songs featuring AI voice clones of an actual artist be published with the consent of that artist. The platform's app also offers a voluntary feature through which artists can list the use of AI in a song's credits. Similarly, Apple Music recently introduced optional "transparency tags" for music or artwork on the platform made with the help of AI. Unlike those features, the labels proposed by the RIAA would be mandatory, though it's unclear what the punishment would be if an artist tried to evade them. The RIAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Music industry launches AI-generated content labels

New York (AFP) - Several major music industry organizations on Friday unveiled a labeling system for content created with generative artificial intelligence (AI) that they would like to see widely adopted. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced the voluntary labels alongside six other organizations including the Grammys and SAG-AFTRA. "Fans want to know whether and how generative AI has been used," the chief executives of IFPI and RIAA said in a prepared statement. "These labels will provide an immediately understandable and easily scalable approach to transparency." They unveiled two labels. The first would indicate music that is primarily "AI-generated" - cases where artificial intelligence "was used to generate the entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements of the recording." This includes tracks generated "entirely" from AI prompts, as well as lead vocals and "key" instrumentals tracks that are AI-generated, according to a statement. The second label applies to "AI-assisted" music which are still "created substantially by humans and expresses human creativity" but contain "some expressive elements" that were generated with AI. However, humans must perform the lead vocals and primary instrumental tracks. This voluntary labeling system is designed for "broad, global adoption," including on streaming services. Music streaming site Deezer systematically flags AI-generated tracks, which the company recently said appears in close to half of new uploads. In June, it launched an "AI music detector" which it said is 99.8% accurate. Earlier this year, an Apple Music executive told Billboard that more than one-third of new uploads were entirely created with AI. In April, Spotify launched a "Verified by Spotify" label to signal that users can "trust the authenticity" of an artist, and last year the company announced new efforts to support AI disclosure and combat impersonation. Spotify declined to comment on Friday. Apple Music and the Digital Media Association didn't respond to requests for comment.

Music Coalition Pushes For AI Labels on Streaming Services

A coalition of music industry trade groups led by the RIAA and IFPI has announced a new program for labeling AI music, seeking wider-spread industry adoption from the likes of streaming services and other industry stakeholders as AI-generated songs continue to flood the market. The program would be akin to how explicit music is currently labeled on services, that little "E" box listed beside a track. The groups suggested two different labels for AI: one "AI-generated" logo to disclose a song was created wholly or mostly with AI, and a separate "AI-assisted" logo for if a recording was substantially human-created but AI was use for some "expressive elements." Along with the RIAA and IFPI, The Recording Academy, SAG-AFTRA, A2IM, WIN, IMPALA and the Human Artistry Campaign all signed on advocating for the labeling as well. The announcement refers to the disclosures as voluntary, and the groups said the labels are "designed to evolve as technology and requirements change." "Fans want to know whether and how generative AI has been used in the music to which they listen," IFPI CEO Vikki Oakley and RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a joint statement. "Given how important human artistry and authenticity is to music lovers all over the world, these labels will provide an immediately understandable and easily scalable approach to transparency. We acknowledge the many ways AI is being used creatively, so we expect to offer fans additional information as adoption of generative AI labeling grows and technology evolves." It's unclear the timeline on if and how this system would be adopted. The groups said Friday that they will work with "digital music services, distributors, aggregators and standard-setting bodies on industrywide implementation." The move comes as AI music continues to proliferate across the music ecosystem. Some platforms have decided to outlaw AI music entirely. Apple Music recently revealed about a third of all its daily uploads are AI-generated songs. It's a common vehicle for streaming fraud given how easy it is for bad actors to create and upload scores of new recordings, though services like AI music generation platform Suno are also becoming more popular among professional artists, producers and songwriters as well. "As AI continues to be integrated into the creative process, artists and fans alike deserve a clear way to communicate how and when it's being used," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. "This initiative ensures that creativity, authorship, and artistic intent remain at the center of every song. Giving artists the ability to tell that story strengthens trust and supports a more sustainable future for music." As SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said: "Transparency is essential, but it is only the beginning. Fans deserve to know when the music they hear is AI-generated or AI-assisted, and performers deserve a marketplace that recognizes, values, and protects human creativity." Outside of the groups' new label program, streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal had already introduced voluntary AI music disclosure systems of their own. In Spotify's case, those disclosures are shown in the song's credits. How common any sort of voluntary AI disclosure would actually be is unknown as artists have little incentive to self-report given the stigma around AI music, and those using AI for fraudulent purposes certainly aren't looking to be transparent. Still Spotify previously said that in a blog post that the service has already seen "tens of thousands of AI credits submitted daily by artists using AI in their creative process." Beyond self-reporting, technology around AI detection will also play a key role in wider-spread labeling going forward. Graham Davies, CEO of The Digital Media Association (DIMA) -- the trade group representing streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify -- said in a statement Friday that the organization is "following today's announcement closely, further adding that it awaits getting better AI metadata from stakeholders."