Apple Music to label AI-generated music

Apple Music is preparing to label music created with artificial intelligence, a move that follows a similar initiative by Spotify. The platform will introduce a "Made With AI" tag later this year, providing listeners with clearer information about the role AI played in music production.

The new labels will be based on transparency data supplied by record labels and music distributors. This aims to give listeners a better understanding of whether AI was significantly involved in creating the music they hear. Apple Music previously introduced AI transparency labels in March, but these were designed for content providers to disclose AI usage, not for direct listener visibility.

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We will be increasing the buyback size, meaning that each operation could exceed $4 billion.

Apple states that content providers must add these labels when AI is used to create a substantial portion of a track, particularly covering songs produced with generative AI services. While Apple has not specified how it will enforce this or provided an exact date for the labels' appearance, it confirmed they will arrive by the end of the year.

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This is a bit like using a credit card to pay your mortgage. It might work in the short term, but eventually, this mismatch will become increasingly apparent.

This development occurs as the music industry increasingly voices concerns about the influx of AI-generated content and the potential for artificial streams. Apple Music's own data highlights the rapid growth of this trend, with Apple Music's head, Oliver Schusser, previously noting that over a third of monthly new uploads are AI-generated songs, though they account for less than 1% of actual listening time.

Spotify has also recently implemented measures, announcing an "AI Persona" badge for artist profiles representing AI-generated identities. This badge appears across profiles, search results, and song lyrics, helping listeners discern if an artist profile might not be a real person.

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The intervention ignores underlying structural challenges, and the longer-term implication is potentially a higher risk premium that reflects Treasury's market intervention and moves the market away from 'normal and predictable' principles.