YouTube Music has started rolling out labels to identify songs created primarily using generative artificial intelligence (AI), helping listeners distinguish AI-generated music from human-made tracks. The streaming service announced the move in a blog post on Wednesday.
Listeners Asked for It
YouTube says the move comes directly from its listeners, who told the company they want to know when a track they're hearing is AI-generated.
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The company also sees a creative upside to the technology. According to YouTube, AI tools are giving musicians fresh ways to make songs, try out new ideas and get their work out to listeners.
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What Counts as AI Music
The labels will appear on tracks where AI played a significant role in creating the song. As an example, YouTube points to songs where both the composition and the vocals were produced using a generative model.
How the Labels Work
If a song qualifies, listeners will spot the label right on the screen where the track is playing. A tap on it brings up a brief menu explaining more.
YouTube is relying on a mix of information from music industry partners and its own detection technology to identify which songs should be labelled. The labels follow the same principles YouTube already applies to AI content across its platform.
Building on Existing AI Labels
YouTube already requires creators to disclose when they've used AI or other tools to make content that looks realistic, such as a video of an event that never happened or a person saying something they didn't say. These labels usually appear in a video's description, and are shown more prominently on the video player when the topic is sensitive.
YouTube has also said it may add a label itself, even if a creator hasn't disclosed AI use, when content could confuse or mislead people.
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Coming to YouTube Too
The labels are launching on YouTube Music first, but YouTube says they will also expand to its main app. That means viewers watching music on YouTube itself will eventually see the same information.
“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for viewers and listeners to have the right information and clarity when it comes to the music they listen to,” the company said.
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