YouTube Music has begun labeling songs created primarily with generative artificial intelligence (AI), giving listeners information about how tracks were made.
The label appears on the player screen and opens a menu with further details when tapped. The feature also extends to the main YouTube app, the platform announced on October 14.
As an example, YouTube cites a track whose composition and vocals were created by a generative model. The Google-owned company said:
“Generative AI is opening up new ways for artists to create, experiment and share music. As these tools evolve, our listeners have told us they want transparency when they listen to an AI-generated track.”
How tracks are classified
YouTube will combine information supplied by its music partners with its own detection tools, applying the labeling principles already used elsewhere on the platform.
Its partner help page says labels and distributors can disclose AI use when delivering content through Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) or comma-separated values (CSV) templates. It sets out three categories:
- “Fully Gen AI”: A song downloaded from a generator after entering a text prompt.
- “Partly Gen AI”: A song in which an artist uses AI to create a bass line or string section, then adds recorded vocals and instruments.
- “No Gen AI”: A track using pitch correction with Auto-Tune or automated AI mastering.
The help page specifies that partners are responsible for interpreting the DDEX definitions.
Partner disclosures are not the only criterion. YouTube can use other signals to supplement them. When partners provide no information, it will rely solely on those signals to classify content as fully or partly AI-generated.
Questions about labels and royalties
Neither the announcement nor the help page explains how labeled tracks will be treated in recommendations or royalty allocation. They also do not clarify whether partly AI-generated tracks will carry a visible label.
In May, when discussing video labels, YouTube said a label alone does not change how a video is recommended or whether it can earn revenue.
Other services set their own rules
The announcement came a day after Deezer announced a toggle to hide AI-generated music in search.
Apple Music will display “Made With AI” labels this year based on disclosures from labels and distributors.
Spotify marks AI-generated artist profiles as “AI Persona” and excludes them from its recommendations by default. TIDAL stopped paying royalties for music created entirely with AI.
In July, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) proposed two voluntary labels: “AI-generated” and “AI-assisted.”
Deezer, which uses its own detection technology, receives around 90.000 fully AI-generated tracks a day. That exceeds half of daily uploads on its busiest days.
YouTube has not published figures on how much AI-generated music reaches its service.
