# Apple Music will label AI-made tracks, artwork and videos later this year > Source: > Published: 2026-08-21 00:59:00+00:00 # Apple Music will label AI-made tracks, artwork and videos later this year **Providers must flag material AI use across recordings, compositions, artwork and videos, while Apple's public delivery spec still calls the metadata optional.** By [Ryan Merket](/author/ryan-merket) ยท Published Primary source: [9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/20/apple-music-will-soon-get-visible-labels-for-ai-generated-content/) ## Why it matters Apple is building AI provenance into music distribution as synthetic uploads surge. The policy covers more creative elements than rival labels, but its value depends on suppliers reporting their own AI use consistently. Apple Music will make "Made With AI" labels visible to listeners later this year, turning metadata supplied by record labels and distributors into a consumer-facing warning across songs, compositions, artwork and music videos. Apple detailed the rollout in an email sent to creators on Thursday, [according to 9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/20/apple-music-will-soon-get-visible-labels-for-ai-generated-content/?ref=runtimewire). Content providers will be required to apply an AI Transparency Tag whenever generative AI produced a "material portion" of an asset, including tracks primarily derived from a generative AI service. The tags cover four separate parts of a release. "Artwork" applies to static or motion album graphics. "Track" covers the sound recording. "Composition" covers lyrics, melodies and other elements of the underlying song. "Music Video" applies to AI-generated visual elements. A release can carry multiple tags. Apple introduced the underlying metadata system on March 4th. Its [current delivery specification](https://help.apple.com/itc/musicspec/en.lproj/static.html?ref=runtimewire) gives providers an `ai_transparencies` field and separate values for artwork, tracks, compositions and music videos. The April specification added support for standalone music-video singles. ### The label still starts with the supplier Apple's latest email describes the disclosure as required, but the public technical specification labels the field as optional and states that no AI use is assumed when providers omit it. Apple also told partners in March that each provider could decide what qualifies as AI content, [9to5Mac reported at the time](https://9to5mac.com/2026/03/04/apple-music-introduces-metadata-tags-to-disclose-ai-generated-content/?extended-comments=1&ref=runtimewire). That leaves a consequential judgment with the labels, distributors and artists delivering the music. Apple's "material portion" threshold separates generative production from routine software use, but it does not give providers a numerical test for deciding when assistance becomes authorship. A vocal cleanup tool, lyric suggestion or generated instrumental stem could produce different disclosures depending on the supplier applying the rule. The visible badge gives Apple a way to distinguish synthetic material without removing it from the catalog. It also creates a metadata layer that Apple can use across search, recommendations and rights administration as AI production becomes easier to scale. Apple Music executive Oliver Schusser has said fully AI-generated tracks account for over one-third of monthly uploads to the service while producing less than 0.5% of listening, according to the [August 20th report](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/20/apple-music-will-soon-get-visible-labels-for-ai-generated-content/?ref=runtimewire). Those figures are Apple's own measurements, and they expose the problem behind the label: synthetic music is consuming an increasing share of the ingestion pipeline without attracting a comparable audience. ### Streaming services are writing different rules Apple's policy covers how individual creative elements were made. [Spotify's new AI Persona badge](https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-08-11/ai-persona-badges-transparency/?ref=runtimewire) addresses a narrower question: whether an artist profile represents a real person. Spotify plans to begin showing the badge in mid-September and says AI Personas will be excluded from editorial and algorithmic recommendations by default. Spotify will accept self-disclosures while also reviewing profiles and allowing appeals. Deezer has taken the most interventionist approach. The service says its detection system identifies fully AI-generated music, labels it and removes it from editorial and algorithmic recommendations. In July, [Deezer reported](https://newsroom-deezer.com/2026/07/ai-music-exceeds-50-percent-daily-uploads-deezer/?ref=runtimewire) that roughly 90,000 AI-generated tracks arrived each day during June, exceeding half of new uploads at peak periods. Those tracks generated between 1% and 3% of listening, according to Deezer. Apple's labels broaden disclosure beyond fully generated tracks, catching cases where AI was used for a cover image, lyrics or one part of a recording. That wider scope also makes consistent enforcement harder. A badge can tell listeners that AI played a material role. Its usefulness will depend on whether the suppliers flooding streaming services with generated material disclose that role accurately.