Major organisations across the global music industry have unveiled a new initiative to help listeners identify how artificial intelligence has been used in song creation.
The programme, announced on Friday, brings together leading industry bodies, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards, and SAG-AFTRA. Together, they have introduced two voluntary labels: “AI-Generated” and “AI-Assisted.”
The labels are designed to give music fans greater transparency as AI-generated recordings become increasingly common on streaming platforms. Similar to existing explicit content warnings, the new tags will appear at the track level to explain the role AI played in producing a recording.
Under the proposal, a song labelled “AI-Generated” would indicate that key elements, such as the lead vocals or primary instruments, were created by artificial intelligence, or that the entire track was produced from an AI prompt. Meanwhile, “AI-Assisted” will be used for songs in which human creators remain responsible for the music, but AI contributed to certain expressive elements during production.
Industry leaders said the initiative reflects growing listener demand for greater clarity while recognising that AI can also serve as a valuable creative tool. For now, the labels will not cover AI’s use in songwriting, lyrics, music videos or cover artwork.
