Earlier this year, Apple Music rolled out Transparency Tags, letting labels and distributors voluntarily disclose whether their tracks were made using generative AI. The problem was the word "voluntarily" — whether to tag a song was entirely up to the labels and distributors, effectively handing the job of flagging AI-made music to the very people with the least incentive to admit it.
According to Variety, Apple is developing a new label called "Made With AI" for use on Apple Music. The key difference from the current system lies in the word "mandatory": if a song contains a "significant portion" of generative AI content, it will be required to carry this label — no longer left to the label's discretion to disclose or not.
There's no public rollout timeline yet, and Apple hasn't offered a more precise definition of what counts as a "significant portion" or which production steps would trigger the labeling threshold. Engadget says it has reached out to Apple for confirmation and will update the story if it hears back.
This news lands in a particularly interesting context. Just last month, several major record labels publicly called for AI-generated "slop" songs to be excluded from global music charts, while streaming platform Deezer has been rolling out data and tools to identify AI-made tracks. Streaming services don't share a unified stance on AI music — some tend to downplay the issue, while others are tackling it head-on by building detection into their products as a feature. If Apple really does shift its label from "voluntary" to "mandatory," that would mark a step toward the latter camp.
As of publication, Apple has not confirmed this feature, and details along with a rollout timeline remain to be officially announced.
