Apple is making AI disclosure mandatory on Apple Music, requiring music companies to identify songs and other content that were materially created using generative artificial intelligence.
The company notified music distributors and record labels this week that a visible “Made With AI” label will appear on Apple Music for qualifying content. The requirement covers tracks, compositions, artwork and music videos in which AI played a substantial role.
Apple defines AI-generated content as anything “primarily derived from a generative AI service.”
Apple is ending voluntary disclosure
Apple introduced Transparency Tags in March as a voluntary system that let creators disclose AI involvement in four categories: artwork, track, composition and music video.
The new policy removes that choice. Apple says content providers must disclose AI use whenever it was responsible for a material portion of the content, including tracks primarily generated by an AI platform.
Apple has not said exactly where the “Made With AI” label will appear in Apple Music. The company told partners that the change will take effect later this year.
AI music is flooding Apple Music
The change comes as Apple deals with a sharp increase in AI-generated music entering the service.
Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser told Billboard in April that more than one-third of monthly uploads are now 100% AI-generated. Despite that volume, AI music accounts for less than 0.5% of listening time.
That gap suggests AI-generated music is filling Apple’s catalog far faster than it is attracting listeners.
Apple has also built its own system for detecting AI-generated music, according to Schusser. Until now, however, the company has largely relied on creators and distributors to disclose their own involvement with AI.
Mandatory disclosure gives Apple another way to use that detection system. The company can compare distributors’ reports with its own technology’s AI-generated detections.
What Apple Music listeners will see
The new labels will give listeners a way to identify music that was primarily created with generative AI before deciding whether to listen.
Apple has not said whether the label will appear on album pages, individual songs, search results, playlists, or elsewhere in the app. It also has not explained what will happen to content that should carry a label but is not properly disclosed.
For now, Apple is focused on making AI involvement visible. The “Made With AI” labels are expected to begin appearing on Apple Music later this year.
