If you’ve ever wondered whether that oddly generic track blowing up your playlist was made by a human or an AI, Apple Music is about to make it a lot easier to tell. According to an email sent to industry partners, first obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Apple Music will roll out AI labels sometime later this year. No exact date yet, but the wheels are officially in motion.
What exactly will these labels do?
Back in March, Apple Music quietly introduced transparency tags that let record labels and distributors flag content that was “materially generated using AI.” The new labels will make the information visible to listeners. Going forward, content providers will need to include these tags whenever AI plays a major role in creating a track, including songs generated entirely by AI platforms.
Why is Apple making this move now?
Weeks ago, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) pushed streaming services to treat AI content the way they already treat explicit tracks, with a clear and visible label.
Spotify beat Apple to the punch earlier this month, as the music streaming giant announced it would label AI artist profiles and keep them out of editorial and algorithmic recommendations.
Now Apple Music is also following suit. The company had already doubled its penalty fees for streaming fraud earlier this year, and Apple Music head Oliver Schusser pointed to the rise of AI content as part of the reasoning behind that decision.
Whether these labels actually curb fraud or manipulation remains to be seen, since Apple hasn’t shared how it plans to enforce the new rules. Still, with two of the biggest music streaming platforms now moving in the same direction, AI transparency in music might finally be catching up to how fast the technology itself is moving.