Report: Apple Music plans transparency labels to identify AI-generated music

Apple Music is reportedly updating the way record labels and distributors identify AI-generated or AI-assisted material when submitting content to the platform.

As reported by Music Business Worldwide, Apple informed industry partners in a newsletter on Wednesday that it plans to launch a new set of metadata fields to improve transparency around the use of AI in music.

Metadata typically includes song titles, album names, genres, artist information, and other identifiers that help organise digital files. Under the new system, Apple Music will allow distributors to apply metadata tags indicating when AI-generated content is used in specific parts of a release. These tags are expected to let distributors specify whether AI played a role in the artwork, the track itself, the composition or lyrics, or the music video.

This appears to reflect growing interest among Apple Music users in clearer labelling of AI content. Just days ago, a Reddit user shared a mock-up concept for a similar feature. However, the challenge with this opt-in tagging system is that it still relies on labels or distributors voluntarily disclosing their use of AI. Spotify is said to be following a similar approach.

Meanwhile, other streaming services, such as Deezer, are attempting to label content with the help of in-house AI-detection tools. However, building systems that can do this with high accuracy remains difficult.