Apple Music AI Labels

Apple Music has announced that it will introduce "Made With AI" labels on tracks that have been "materially generated" using AI platforms such as Suno. The labels will be visible to listeners later this year, but only if record labels and distributors tag the music with the relevant metadata before it reaches the platform.

Background

According to a message to industry partners from Apple, obtained by Music Business Worldwide, the company has been running a tagging system behind the scenes since March, when it introduced AI Transparency Tags. These tags allow record labels and distributors to flag AI use across a track, its composition, its artwork, or a music video.

The move by Apple Music is part of a broader effort by the music industry to get AI-made tracks clearly labeled across streaming services. The RIAA and IFPI announced a push to achieve this in July, and other streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer are also taking steps to address the issue.

Comparison of Approaches

The approach taken by Apple Music differs from that of other streaming services. For example, Spotify has announced an "AI Persona" badge for artist profiles built around an AI-generated identity, and will review profiles itself to flag those that appear to represent photorealistic AI-generated identities. Deezer, on the other hand, deploys its own technology to detect when a track is suspected of being AI-made, and clearly labels it accordingly. The different approaches can be compared as follows:

Regulatory Context

The introduction of "Made With AI" labels by Apple Music comes against a regulatory backdrop, with the EU AI Act's transparency rules requiring providers of generative AI systems to embed machine-readable markers in the content they produce. Generative AI services that were already on the market before August 2 have until December 2 to meet the marking requirement. Suno has said that it will adopt audio watermarking and fingerprinting in the coming weeks to work with distribution platforms on combatting fraud and misuse.

Apple Music's message to partners emphasizes the importance of content providers in implementing the Made With AI Labels, as they are best positioned to know how their content was created and what AI Transparency Tags should be used. The goal of the labels is to provide listeners with as much transparency as possible, and Apple Music has referred partners to its Music Style Guide for more information on how it handles AI-generated content.