Apple Music has introduced a new metadata system called Transparency Tags to mark when artificial intelligence helps create music on the platform. The move aims to improve disclosure around AI use in artwork, tracks, lyrics, and music videos. Record labels and distributors can start applying these tags when they deliver content to Apple Music.
The tagging framework covers four areas of the creative process. The Artwork tag applies when AI generates a significant portion of an album’s visual artwork. The Track tag identifies sound recordings created partly with AI. The Composition tag marks AI-generated lyrics or other songwriting elements. The Music Video tag applies when AI plays a role in producing video content tied to a release.
According to Music Business Worldwide, Apple shared details of the system in a newsletter sent to industry partners on March 4. The company explained that labels and distributors hold the responsibility for reporting AI use when they submit music to the platform.
Apple said the system works like existing metadata fields such as genres and credits. The tags remain optional for now. If content arrives without a tag, Apple assumes no AI was involved in its creation.
Apple wrote in the newsletter, “Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and we believe labels and distributors must take an active role in reporting when the content they deliver is created using AI.”
A different path from other platforms
Apple’s approach relies on self-reporting by content providers rather than platform detection.
Deezer has taken a different route. The streaming service built its own technology to detect AI-generated music through technical analysis.
Deezer reports that it now receives more than 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks each day. Synthetic music accounts for about 39 percent of all new uploads to the platform. The company also found that up to 85 percent of streams on AI-generated tracks in 2025 were fraudulent.
Apple’s tagging system does not include a verification process yet. The company describes the program as an early step toward building transparency standards for AI-generated music across the industry.
