Apple Music outlines AI measures in industry letter

Published on 20 May under the title What We’re Doing to Keep Music Fair, the letter details the streaming service’s policies and systems aimed at managing AI-related developments while addressing concerns around fraud, transparency and artist protection.

The company said it views emerging technologies as tools intended to support artists rather than replace them. According to Apple Music, AI-generated music currently accounts for “significantly less than 1%” of total plays on the platform.

While describing AI as an “exciting opportunity” that could allow artists to explore new forms of storytelling, the company said safeguards were needed to reduce misuse and increase transparency.

Apple Music noted that it introduced tagging support for AI-generated content in March, becoming the first global streaming service to do so. The company said some major distributors are already providing AI-related metadata and that all content providers will eventually be required to submit this information.

Although this metadata is not currently visible to users within the Apple Music application, the company said it allows the platform to monitor and assess the presence of AI-generated material.

The streaming service also said it has developed internal tools to identify AI-generated content as part of wider efforts to combat fraud, spam and artist impersonation. According to the company, AI-generated songs are automatically removed if the majority of their streams are found to result from manipulation.

Apple Music said it strengthened its approach to stream manipulation in February by increasing penalties in what it described as “extreme” cases. The company added that its Music Style Guide prohibits deceptive uses of AI.

Apple Music claimed it excluded approximately two billion manipulated streams during 2025 and redirected associated royalties back into its payment pool. It also said manipulated streams account for less than 0.5% of activity on the service.

The company further stated that human curation remains central to its platform strategy, with editorial teams continuing to focus on music selection, recommendations and discovery.

Apple said AI tools are already supporting some user-facing features, including AutoMix and Playlist Playground, a feature that allows users to generate playlists through natural language prompts.