Tidal released its first dedicated AI music policy early this week, which puts one more streaming service on record about AI. That announcement gave a good reason to look at the biggest music platforms and see how each one handles AI generated music, artist protection and royalty payments. The answers are very different, especially once royalty payments become involved.
Tidal published its AI music policy after AI music became much more common on streaming services. Now, AI artists top music charts and streaming record numbers.
The company says it accepts AI generated music, although it wants listeners to know exactly when they are hearing it and wants human artists protected from misuse.
How Will Tidal’s Policy Impact Artists?
Listeners will begin seeing labels on fully AI generated music during mid July. Distributors will also have to identify AI generated music before it reaches the platform. Tidal says it will block or remove AI music connected to deception, fake activity or uploads intended to interfere with genuine artists.
Royalty payments make Tidal’s position different from every other major platform. Fully AI generated music cannot earn royalties, even though people can use AI tools during their creative work. The company said, “Tidal’s priority is ensuring royalties go to original works directly produced, written, and performed by people. We will therefore not knowingly attribute royalties to music we identify as wholly AI generated.”
Independent musicians using Tidal Upload face exactly the same rules. Fully AI generated uploads can receive AI labels and cannot earn direct to fan revenue, prioritising human created music when royalties are paid. Here’s a look at the rest of the popular streaming services…
YouTube Was The First To Take A Stance On AI
YouTube published its AI principles on 21 August, back in 2023, making it the earliest platform in this group to publish public guidance. The company built its policy around working together with music companies and artists.
The company launched its Music AI Incubator with Universal Music Group and musicians, who help YouTube assess AI tools before they become more widely used. Chief executive Neal Mohan said, “AI is here, and we will embrace it responsibly together with our music partners.”
He also said, “These three fundamental AI principles serve to enhance music’s unique creative expression while also protecting music artists and the integrity of their work.”
YouTube also says Content ID and AI detection systems will keep protecting artists, copyright owners and songwriters as AI music becomes more common on the platform.
Spotify Requires Permission Before Use
Spotify published its AI policy on 25 September last year, before adding more details during April this year. The service accepts that artists can use AI creatively, although artist permission forms the basis of its rules.
Spotify introduced new rules covering AI voice cloning and impersonation. Anyone using another artist’s voice must receive permission before that music appears on the platform. Spotify also announced a spam filter after removing more than 75 million spam tracks during the previous twelve months.
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The platform also lets artists disclose AI use through song credits. Those credits tell listeners where AI contributed to vocals, lyrics or production without affecting royalty payments.
Spotify said, “We envision a future where artists and producers are in control of how or if they incorporate AI into their creative processes. As always, we leave those creative decisions to artists themselves while continuing our work to protect them against spam, impersonation, and deception, and providing listeners with greater transparency about the music they hear.”
Apple Music Has No Formal Policy
Apple Music has not published a formal AI music policy. Artists therefore have no public guidance covering AI labels, AI disclosures or royalty treatment that matches the information published through Tidal, Deezer, Spotify or YouTube.
Deezer Won’t Push Recommendations Out For AI Music
Deezer announced its latest AI policy update on 29 January this year, after spending a full year developing AI detection tools. According to the company, more than 13.4 million AI tracks were detected during 2025, and more than 60,000 AI tracks now come onto the platform every day. Deezer said those uploads make up about 39% of daily deliveries.
Fraud forms the basis of Deezer’s policy: according to the company, AI generated music makes up only 1% to 3% of streams, although up to 85% of those streams were fraudulent during 2025. Fraudulent streams do not receive royalty payments.
Chief executive Alexis Lanternier said, “Music generated entirely by AI has become nearly indistinguishable from human creation, and with a continuous flood of uploads to streaming platforms, our approach remains crystal clear: transparency for fans and protecting the rights of artists and songwriters.”
He also said, “We know that the majority of AI music is uploaded to Deezer with the purpose of committing fraud, and we continue to take action. We detect and tag AI generated music and remove it from algorithmic recommendations, so that our users have a clear choice regarding what to listen to, while making it harder for fraudsters to game the system. And of course, every fraudulent stream that we detect is demonetized so that the royalties of human artists, songwriters and other rights owners are not affected.”
Artists using Deezer can publish AI music, although tagged tracks are removed from recommendations and fraudulent streams cannot earn money. Deezer has also started selling its AI detection tech to other businesses.
Where Does This Leave Artists?
Looking at these policies, every platform wants artists protected from deception, fraud and impersonation. Tidal goes one stage further through its royalty policy, placing fully AI generated music outside royalty payments altogether.
That position gives human creators a little more room than the policies published elsewhere, even though every service has chosen a different way of dealing with AI music.
