Tidal stops royalties for fully AI-generated music

The music streaming service Tidal announced a new policy on Monday, June 29, that will prevent fully AI-generated music from earning royalties on its platform. The policy, which the company described as a "living document," also mandates the tagging of such content and the removal of tracks that impersonate artists.

Effective immediately, Tidal will not pay royalties for music it identifies as wholly generated by artificial intelligence. Starting July 15, the platform will begin visibly tagging these tracks with an "AI badge" and will block or remove AI-generated songs associated with fraudulent activity, including impersonation of established artists. The company stated its priority is ensuring royalties go to original works directly produced, written, and performed by people.

Tidal emphasized that the policy is not a ban on AI-assisted creation. The company said artists should have the freedom to create with AI tools and listeners should have autonomy over their content choices. However, it will hold AI-generated content to a higher standard of integrity. Initially, the tagging will apply to songs identified as 100% AI-generated, with plans to expand the label to...