YouTube Music starts labelling AI songs, and Deezer will let you hide them
Music streaming services are finally telling listeners when a song was made with AI. Here is how each platform is handling it.
Have you ever wondered whether a song in your playlist was made by a person or by AI? Music streaming apps are starting to tell you. This week, YouTube Music began labelling AI-generated tracks, and Deezer announced that users will be able to filter fully AI-made music out of search results.
How YouTube Music’s labels work
YouTube Music now shows a label on the player page for songs made “primarily using generative AI”. Tap the label to see more details about how AI was used. YouTube says the labels will also come to the main YouTube app.
Record labels and distributors can mark each track in one of three ways:
- Fully Gen AI: for example, a song created from a text prompt in an AI music generator
- Partly Gen AI: for example, an artist uses AI to create a bassline or string section, then adds real vocals and instruments
- No Gen AI: normal production tools such as Auto-Tune or automatic mastering do not count as generative AI
YouTube combines what music partners declare with its own detection tools. If a partner gives no information, YouTube may still label a track based on its own signals. Importantly, AI songs are not banned. They can still earn money on the platform.
Deezer goes one step further
Deezer, the French streaming service, announced on October 13 that users will be able to exclude fully AI-generated music from search results. Deezer uses its own detection technology and says it receives nearly 90,000 fully AI-made tracks every day. That number shows how fast AI music is flooding streaming platforms.
What other apps are doing
- Spotify has been testing AI disclosures in song credits and plans an “AI Persona” badge for AI-generated artist profiles, which are kept out of its recommendations by default.
- Apple Music has told partners that “Made With AI” labels will appear later this year.
- TIDAL said in June that it would tag fully AI-generated music and stop paying royalties on it.
The music industry groups RIAA and IFPI have also proposed two simple voluntary labels: “AI-generated” and “AI-assisted”.
Listeners do not all hate AI music. They just want to know what they are listening to.
Why it matters
For artists, AI songs compete for the same listeners and the same royalty money. For listeners, labels help with trust. A song that sounds like your favourite singer might not be them at all.
The weakness of most systems is that they rely on music companies being honest about AI use. Detection tools help, but they are not perfect. Expect these labels to improve, and rules to get stricter, over the next year.
What you can do
- Look for the new label on the YouTube Music player screen.
- If you use Deezer, watch for the new filter setting in search when it rolls out.
- If you want to support human artists, follow them directly and buy their music or merchandise.
