TIDAL Cracks Down on AI Music by Cutting Off Monetization
Score
51Why selected
TIDAL's move is one of the first clear industry reactions to AI music monetization, setting a precedent but limited to a single platform.
AI commentary
「This policy could shift the streaming industry's stance on AI music, protecting human creators' earnings and creative environment.」
Quick overview
TIDAL announces a new policy that prevents AI-generated music from monetizing on its platform. This move aims to uphold the originality and artistic value of music creation, preventing copyright and authenticity issues caused by misuse of AI tools. TIDAL becomes the first major streaming platform to explicitly reject AI music monetization, sparking industry debate.
- TIDAL's new policy bans AI-generated music from earning royalties
- Policy applies to all tracks created using AI tools
- TIDAL emphasizes support for human artists and original content
- Other platforms may follow with similar measures
Full text
Music streaming service TIDAL is the latest to take aim at AI-generated music with the introduction of a new policy that will prevent fully AI-generated music from making money on its platform. In addition, TIDAL will use automated tools to remove AI-generated music that attempts to impersonate an artist or a group, the company said.
“We are committed to protecting and rewarding organic creativity to avoid compromising an artist’s ability to connect with and build their fandom from TIDAL subscribers. Many have told us they do not want to be exposed to — or prompted to listen to — wholly AI-generated music,” wrote Tony Gervino, TIDAL EVP and editor-in-chief, in an announcement.
He clarified that TIDAL’s new policy was not meant to “bash technological advancement,” but rather focuses on protecting and rewarding “organic creativity” from artists.
With the changes, fully AI-generated music on TIDAL will be identified and tagged as such, allowing listeners to see an “AI” badge next to any tracks deemed to be 100% AI. These tunes will not be able to be monetized or collect royalties, and will not be eligible for direct-to-fan sales, the company noted.
TIDAL’s policy joins others in the streaming music space, where services like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Qobuz have developed their own policies to address the growing number of AI-generated tracks filling their services. Spotify last year revamped its policies to label AI music and better filter spam, while still acknowledging that AI tools would be used in the music-creation process to varying degrees. Apple Music also took the tagging approach.
Deezer, which said that 44% of all new music uploaded to its platform daily is AI-generated, has taken a tougher position. It actively removes AI tracks from recommendations and excludes them from editorial playlists. It also offers its AI-detection technology to rivals and provides a consumer-facing tool that lets you see if AI music has slipped into your playlists on competing services.
TIDAL’s policy could be an interesting test to see if demonetization could be the thing to slow the deluge of AI music, which many listeners aren’t interested in.
“Regardless of what you are reading elsewhere, AI’s takeover of the music industry (and your recommendations) isn’t inevitable if we take even greater steps now to monitor and control it,” noted Gervino.
The company said the new policy is a “living document,” meaning it’s open to changes as the space evolves. It goes into effect on July 15, 2026.
Topics
AI, ai music, Apps, Media & Entertainment, Music, streaming music, tidalWhen you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Sarah Perez
Consumer News Editor
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal. View Bio
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