Hate AI songs? YouTube Music will now label tracks so you can avoid them

YouTube Music is currently testing a new look for album art, giving the player a sprawling background that stretches across the top third of the page. While that experiment is limited to a small number of users at the moment, YouTube is rolling out a separate change that’s available widely. This update brings some much-needed transparency regarding AI-created music.

YouTube Music has announced it will roll out new labels for AI-created tracks starting today. It should be noted that the company specifies that music “primarily” created by generative AI will receive these labels. For example, if an artist used an AI model to create the song’s composition and vocals, then you’ll see a label on it. That means music where AI was used minimally could still avoid getting labeled.

According to the company, it will use its own tools and work with music partners to identify AI-generated music. This rollout will also use the same labeling principles currently being applied across YouTube. Once an AI-generated track is detected, a label will appear on the player page. Tapping the label will open a menu that shares more information, like “This audio was altered or fully generated using AI.”

YouTube Music isn’t the only app getting music AI labels. The feature will also expand to the main YouTube app. With the proliferation of AI music over the last few years, it’s nice to have this extra bit of transparency.