Apple Music is the latest streaming service to ensure people know whether AI is being used in the creative process when they listen to music.
In this case, this takes the form of four “transparent tags” that labels and distributors will soon be required to use when uploading music.
The four tags are artwork, track, composition, and music video, which relate to the different ways artists use AI.
In either case, Apple Music wants you to add tags if they’re an “important part” of your work. What counts as material? That’s up to the label and distributor.
“As with genre, credits, and other metadata, Apple leaves it up to content providers to determine what qualifies as AI content,” DSP wrote in an email to these companies, which was also shared with Music Ally. You can read the full text at the end of this article.
Apple added that the new tags are available now, but will be “required when distributing new content to Apple Music in the future.”
It also describes them as “a concrete first step toward the transparency the industry needs to establish best practices and policies that work for everyone.”
But could a new battle erupt between Apple and Spotify here? Last September, Spotify announced support for a previously unannounced new industry standard for AI music credits developed by the DDEX consortium.
“If a track includes AI-generated vocals, AI instruments, certain AI-generated instruments, or AI-assisted post-production such as mixing or mastering, that information will appear in the credits on Spotify or other services that use this standard,” Spotify’s Sam Duboff explained at the time.
It appears to be a different system than the one used by Apple Music. It would be very Apple-like to go its own way, but it begs the question to what extent the DDEX credit system will become standard across the industry. Deezer has its own tag: “AI-generated music.”
There is another thing that is unclear. At some point, labels and distributors will be required to use Apple Music’s new transparency tags based on information provided by artists. But what if it wasn’t?
Apple’s policy of imposing financial penalties on labels and distributors whose catalogs are involved in streaming fraud suggests that penalties will be imposed for opaque practices regarding AI. But what that will look like and how Apple will detect undeclared AI usage is currently unclear.
Here’s the email Apple Music sent to partners:
Apple Music is introducing new distribution requirements to bring transparency to the music industry regarding AI-generated content. The new transparency tag is available to record labels and music distributors starting today and will be required to distribute new content to Apple Music in the future.
These new tags allow content providers to include detailed information about the content they distribute. We believe that properly tagging content is the first step in providing the music industry with the data and tools it needs to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and that labels and distributors need to take an active role in reporting when the content they distribute is created using AI.
The new transparency tags include four tag types that address key creative elements of digital music content.
| Artwork: AI was used to generate the material portion of the album’s artwork. This applies to both static and motion graphic artwork. |
| Tracking: AI was used to generate the material portion of the audio recording. This tag can only be used at the track level. |
| composition: AI was used to generate the material parts of the musical compositions that were incorporated into the tracks. Use this tag when your AI generates the raw material for lyrics or other components of your song. |
| Music video: AI was used to generate the material part of the visual elements. This applies to music videos bundled with albums and standalone videos. |
Tags must be applied when a significant portion of the content is created using AI, and labels and distributors can apply one or more tags when distributing content. As with genre, credits, and other metadata, Apple leaves it up to content providers to determine what qualifies as AI content.
As the music industry continues to develop and refine standards around AI-generated content, Apple Music remains committed to maintaining a level and fair playing field for all creators and content providers. These new tagging requirements provide a concrete first step toward the transparency the industry needs to establish best practices and policies that work for everyone.
For more information about implementing the new transparency tag, review the latest Apple Music packaging specifications here or contact your Apple Music representative.
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