A.I. Music Is Already Here. To Protect Human Artists, the Record Industry Proposes New Labels, Like Those for Explicit Lyrics

A.I. Music Is Already Here. To Protect Human Artists, the Record Industry Proposes New Labels, Like Those for Explicit Lyrics

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ai-music-is-already-here-to-protect-human-artists-the-record-industry-proposes-labels-for-it-like-those-for-explicit-lyrics-180989128/

Publish Date: 2026-07-15 14:47:00

Source Domain: www.smithsonianmag.com

The proposal comes as A.I.-generated music makes up an increasing share of what’s available on streaming platforms

Christian Thorsberg

| Daily Correspondent

July 15, 2026 2:47 p.m.

An advertising postcard for the Lindenberg Player Piano. 

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Top music industry leaders calling for greater transparency in the age of artificial intelligence shared a new proposal to clearly label songs created entirely or in part using A.I.

Proponents say the labels—which would look and function similarly to the parental advisory sticker, first introduced more than 35 years ago to indicate tracks with explicit lyrics—are meant to protect the ingenuity of human artists while giving listeners a full understanding of the art with which they are interacting.

“Fans want to know whether and how generative A.I. has been used in the music to which they listen,” Vikki Oakley and Mitch Glazier, respective CEOs of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the Recording Industry Association of America, say in a joint statement. “Given how important human artistry and authenticity is to music lovers all over the world, these labels will provide an immediately understandable and easily scalable approach to transparency.”

One design, an upper-case “AI,” would indicate a song is “A.I.-generated,” meaning…

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