YouTube Music rolls out labels for AI-generated music
The streaming service YouTube Music is introducing labels for songs made with generative AI. The labels will also appear in the main YouTube app.
YouTube Music, the music streaming service owned by YouTube, announced on Wednesday a new labeling system that lets listeners identify songs created with the help of generative artificial intelligence (AI), including AI used in composition and vocals. The move comes as AI-made music spreads quickly across streaming platforms, each of which is taking its own approach.
How the labels work
The label appears on the player page. Clicking it shows more detail about the specific role AI played in making the track. The same labels will also be shown in the main YouTube app.
YouTube says it worked with various music partners and used its own detection tools to spot AI-generated music. According to its help page, partners can declare their use of generative AI under one of three designations: "Fully Gen AI", "Partly Gen AI" or "No Gen AI". The first covers tracks generated entirely by AI. The second applies to works in which artists may have used AI-generated components but added their own live elements. Tracks edited with pitch-correction tools such as Auto-Tune fall under "No Gen AI".
How other platforms respond
Apple Music plans to introduce "Made With AI" labels later this year as part of its AI Transparency Tags. Spotify already has AI labels and a music spam filter. Deezer reported in July that it was receiving nearly 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks a day; it labels detected AI music, excludes it from algorithmic recommendations and editorial playlists, and withholds royalties from fraudulent streams. It is also developing an option for users to filter out AI music. TIDAL labels recordings it identifies as fully AI-generated, lets listeners switch them off and excludes them from royalty attribution.
YouTube, by contrast, is focusing on disclosure rather than blanket restrictions. AI involvement alone does not make a track ineligible for monetization. The company also experiments with AI music creation itself, including its Dream Track tool, which lets select creators generate soundtracks featuring AI-generated versions of participating artists' voices.
