It’s getting harder to distinguish AI-generated music on streaming platforms, and companies including Spotify and now Apple Music are attempting to make it clearer.
Apple’s audio streaming service is adding “Transparency Tags” to content generated by artificial intelligence, according to a report by Music Business Worldwide. In a newsletter sent to industry partners, viewed by the news outlet, the company reportedly has new requirements for metadata when uploading tracks to Apple Music, which would disclose whether the song (or anything related to the making of the song) is AI-generated or not.
Spotify Smart Shuffle played a song I’d never heard before. It was AI generated.
The metadata tags reportedly cover artwork, track, composition, and music video, and labels must apply tags to each if AI has been used in production. However, as MWB noted, the Transparency Tags appear to be “optional” in Apple Music Specification 5.3.25 and “if omitted, none is assumed,” so it will be on Apple Music to enforce the need for such tags.
Mashable has reached out to Apple Music for further information.
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It’s tricky territory for music streamers and listeners feeling caught unawares with AI-made music, as Mashable’s Rachel Thompson asks, “How should we feel about AI-generated songs finding their way into our listener library? Some people aren’t necessarily opposed to giving AI music a try, but their open-mindedness begins to shift once they feel deceived.”
After the whole Velvet Sundown-fiasco, audio streaming competitor Spotify started adding AI disclosures through metadata in Sept. 2025, working with the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) to allow “artists and rights holders a way to clearly indicate where and how AI played a role in the creation of a track — whether that’s AI-generated vocals, instrumentation, or post-production.” However, this is separate from Spotify recommending AI-generated music to users, which we’ve still seen happening in 2026.
In a 2025 study by Deezer and Ipsos, 97 percent of people surveyed couldn’t tell an AI-generated song from a human-made one, 80 percent want clear labels for AI music, and 72 percent want to know if they’re being recommended it.
Honestly, more tags on AI-generated content is welcome news, and that doesn’t just apply to music.
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