Tidal has joined Deezer and Qobuz in drawing a line against AI-generated music, rolling out a new policy that aims to protect artists’ earnings while giving listeners a clearer picture of who — or what — actually made the track they’re hearing.
The plan works on two fronts. First, transparency: Tidal will identify AI-generated songs inside the app and slap an “AI” badge on them, so you know at a glance when there’s no human behind the microphone. Second, enforcement: any AI-generated track that impersonates a real artist or group, or that “facilitates fraudulent activity,” gets barred outright. Tidal says it will pull these using “automatic tools,” both immediately and on an ongoing basis.
There’s a financial dimension too. Music that is 100 per cent AI-generated won’t be allowed to earn a penny — no royalties, no direct-to-fan sales. If a machine made all of it, it makes none of the money.
Crucially, that hard rule only applies to fully AI-generated tracks. Songs that are substantially AI-generated will fall under the same scrutiny only “when AI detection technology is sufficiently reliable to do so.” And that caveat is where the whole thing gets wobbly.
The catch is that Tidal — like every other service taking a stand — is relying on AI to catch AI. As anyone who’s watched the book world grapple with the same problem knows, those detectors are far from perfect. False positives and false negatives are inevitable, and the technology is chasing a target that keeps evolving.
Then there’s the definitional grey zone. What actually counts as “AI music”? If a human writes an original composition and then leans on AI tools to polish it, does that cross the line? The boundary between a helpful production tool and a fully synthetic track is blurry today, and it’s only going to blur further as generative tools get better and more embedded in the creative process.
- Transparency: AI-generated tracks get flagged with an in-app “AI” badge
- Removal: AI tracks that impersonate artists or enable fraud are barred and stripped out automatically
- Monetisation: fully AI-generated music earns no royalties and can’t be sold direct to fans
- Rollout: partial-AI music comes under the same rules once detection is deemed reliable
Tidal’s policy takes effect on 15th July. It’s a genuine attempt to shield musicians and keep listeners informed — and in principle, hard to argue with. Whether the detection tech can actually keep its promises is another question entirely. For now, the badge is only as good as the algorithm behind it.
