Tidal Cuts Royalties for AI-Generated Music in Bold Stand for Human Artists

Music streaming platform Tidal is drawing a hard line against artificial intelligence in music. The service announced that artists uploading music wholly or substantially created using AI will be required to label it — and those songs won't be eligible for royalties. The policy goes into effect July 15 and also applies to Tidal's independent artist franchise, Tidal Upload. Fully AI-generated music will be identified and tagged with an "AI" badge, and those tracks will not be able to collect royalties or qualify for direct-to-fan sales. Tidal will also ban AI-generated music associated with "fraudulent activity," including songs impersonating established artists. The policy was sparked by listener complaints and a flood of fully AI-generated content that often impersonates existing artists for financial gain, according to Tidal EVP Tony Gervino. Tidal is the first major platform to test whether removing the financial incentive actually reduces AI music volume. The policy joins similar efforts from Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Qobuz.