Bandcamp doesn’t allow AI-generated music — but some streamers do

Bandcamp announced they would institute a general ban on songs made using artificial intelligence on Tuesday.

The online music distribution platform said in a Reddit post that music made entirely or substantially with generative AI would not be allowed on the site, and went on to prohibit the use of AI to impersonate other artists or styles.

The announcement comes two months after an Ipsos poll conducted in collaboration with streaming platform Deezer found that 97% of individuals could not tell AI songs apart from those made by humans. That poll included 9,000 participants across 8 countries, and found that approximately 50,000 AI-generated songs were being uploaded to the platform every day. (Deezer has committed to labeling all AI-generated music and omitting these tracks from recommendation algorithms.)

That's to say nothing of other uses of AI in the music industry. Last summer, Sirius XM was named in a class action lawsuit for racial discrimination after using AI to screen job applications.

While streaming platforms generally ban impersonation, whether with AI or otherwise, their stances on using AI to make music can vary. Here's a look at how different streaming services are moderating AI-generated music.

Apple Music allows AI-generated music, but only with a clear disclosure, according to B2B music distributor FUGA.

That isn't to say Apple Music is 100% AI-free. A cursory social media search will yield plenty of listeners complaining about AI music that slipped through moderation. And as Apple continues to integrate AI into its product suite, users can likely expect AI-generated playlists hitting their recommendations in the near future.

Last May, SoundCloud found itself in hot water after artists highlighted how a Feb. 2024 edition of the site's terms and conditions forced users to allow their music to be used for AI purposes.

SoundCloud quickly updated their T&C to say in part, "we will not use Your Content to train generative AI models that aim to replicate or synthesize your voice, music, or likeness." The platform stopped short of ruling out the use of AI in the future, but committed to only doing so for users that explicitly opt in.

TIDAL does not allow music uploaded to its platform to be used for training artificial intelligence. Like other streaming services, TIDAL does employ artificial intelligence to automate content moderation and streamline metadata. Artists can also use TIDAL's AI tool to generate lyrics for their work.

In September, Spotify announced stronger rules around AI-generated content.

While the platform continues to allow AI music, Spotify wants to develop an industry standard for artists to tag their music and quantify how AI was used in a track. The company is also strengthening their rules around impersonation, both when it comes to deepfaked vocals and with regard to false uploads to artist pages.

In October, Spotify announced it would be developing AI tools in collaboration with major labels, including a "generative A.I. research lab" and “artist-first A.I. music products.”