{"id":26303,"date":"2026-11-05T16:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T16:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/?p=26303"},"modified":"2026-11-05T16:56:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T16:56:54","slug":"music-catalog-due-diligence-ai-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspacemusic.com\/blog\/music-catalog-due-diligence-ai-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Catalog Due Diligence AI Checks: Screen the Audio Before You Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

A catalog’s share of undisclosed AI-generated audio is now part of what it is worth. Music catalog due diligence AI checks exist to measure that share before you close, because the usual checklist of chain of title, registrations and income history<\/a> says nothing about how the audio was made.<\/p>\n

Catalogs are commonly priced as a multiple of representative royalty earnings<\/a>, so anything that makes those earnings less durable makes the price less safe. Deezer reported in July 2026<\/a> that it now receives nearly 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day.<\/p>\n

Why AI audio changes what a catalog is worth<\/h2>\n

Undisclosed AI audio reaches a catalog’s price three ways: earnings can be struck out, ownership can be thin, and registrations can be refused. A royalty statement will not warn you about any of them.<\/p>\n

Earnings can be struck out: Deezer says it excludes manipulated streams from royalty payments<\/a> and reports far higher fraud on fully AI-generated tracks than across its catalog. It will also take down AI tracks used for fraud or left unstreamed for six months or more.<\/p>\n

Ownership can be thin: the US Copyright Office concluded in January 2025 that generative AI output is protectable only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements<\/a>, and that prompts alone do not count. The Supreme Court declined to hear Thaler v. Perlmutter<\/a> in March 2026, leaving the human-authorship rule standing. AI-assisted tracks with real human input can still qualify, but this is US law only.<\/p>\n

Registrations can be refused: ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN said in October 2025<\/a> that they will register partially AI-generated works but not compositions created entirely with AI tools.<\/p>\n

Disclosure alone will not close the gap. Spotify says a missing AI credit does not mean AI was not used<\/a>, and InterSpace Distribution’s mandatory AI disclosure policy<\/a> covers only new submissions from 25 May 2026.<\/p>\n

Music catalog due diligence AI checks: the order of work<\/h2>\n

Scan every master, join results to earnings, and have a person review flagged tracks, top earner first.<\/p>\n