Several major music industry organizations on Friday unveiled a labeling system for content created with generative artificial intelligence that they hope will be widely adopted.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced the voluntary labels alongside six other groups, including the Grammys.
“Fans want to know whether and how generative AI has been used,” the chief executives of IFPI and RIAA said in a statement.
“These labels will provide an immediately understandable and easily scalable approach to transparency.”
The groups unveiled two labels. The first would identify music that is primarily “AI-generated,” meaning artificial intelligence “was used to generate the entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements of the recording.”
This includes tracks created entirely from AI prompts, as well as recordings featuring AI-generated lead vocals or key instrumental tracks.
The second label applies to “AI-assisted” music that is still “created substantially by humans and expresses human creativity,” but contains some expressive elements generated with AI.
However, the lead vocals and primary instrumental tracks must be performed by humans.
The voluntary labeling system is intended for broad global adoption, including by streaming services.
Under the system, a recording can therefore receive the AI-generated label even when only its lead voice or central instrumental parts were made by AI. To qualify as AI-assisted, its main performances must remain human, despite the inclusion of other AI-created expressive material within the finished recording.
Music streaming platform Deezer systematically flags AI-generated tracks, which the company recently said account for close to half of new uploads. In June, it launched an “AI music detector” that it said is 99.8 percent accurate.
Earlier this year, an Apple Music executive told Billboard that more than one-third of new uploads were created entirely with AI.
The Digital Media Association, which represents streaming companies including Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify, said it was closely following the announcement and welcomed more detailed and accurate AI metadata.
The information could “strengthen our ability to give fans the transparency they deserve,” the association said.
“DIMA has long advocated for the creators, owners, and distributors of music to provide accurate and timely metadata on all music released and distributed to streaming services,” CEO Graham Davies said in a statement.
In April, Spotify launched a “Verified by Spotify” label to signal that users can trust an artist’s authenticity. Last year, it also announced measures to support AI disclosure and combat impersonation.
Spotify declined to comment on Friday. Apple Music and the Digital Media Association did not respond to requests for comment.— AFP
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