YouTube Music adds AI labels to reveal how songs are made

YouTube Music is introducing labels that show listeners when generative AI has helped create a song. The information appears on a track’s player page and explains whether AI contributed to composition, vocals, or other parts of production. Lauren Forristal reports for TechCrunch that the labels will also appear in YouTube’s main app.

The platform uses three categories. “Fully Gen AI” applies to music made entirely by AI. “Partly Gen AI” covers songs that combine AI-generated material with human performances or other live elements. “No Gen AI” applies where generative AI was not used, including tracks that use conventional editing tools such as Auto-Tune.

YouTube says it developed the system with music industry partners and uses its own detection tools. Partners can also declare how generative AI was used in their work.

Disclosure rather than exclusion

The rollout comes as streaming services face a growing volume of AI-generated music. Apple Music plans to introduce “Made With AI” labels later this year, while Spotify already uses AI labels and a filter aimed at music spam.

Other services take a more restrictive approach. Deezer says it receives nearly 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks each day. It labels detected AI tracks, removes them from recommendations and editorial playlists, and withholds royalties connected to fraudulent streams. TIDAL also labels recordings it identifies as fully AI-generated, lets users disable them, and excludes them from royalty attribution.

YouTube Music does not treat AI involvement as a reason to block monetization. Its approach focuses on giving listeners more context while allowing artists to use AI tools. YouTube itself is testing AI music products, including Dream Track, which enables selected creators to generate soundtracks using AI-generated versions of participating artists’ voices.