Bandcamp wants you to know that music on its platform is meant to be made by humans, not machines.
On Tuesday (Jan. 13), the popular music distribution platform published a blog post announcing a formal policy restricting generative AI.
Per the policy, any music or audio that is “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI” is not allowed on Bandcamp. The policy also says that using AI tools “to impersonate other artists or styles” is also forbidden in tandem with their existing policies “prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement.”
The new policy is intended to protect human creativity and assure listeners that music on the platform is made by people.
Users are being encouraged to flag any content that appears created with generative Al for Bandcamp’s review. The platform reiterated that it reserves the right to remove music suspected of being AI-generated.
“With this policy, we’re putting human creativity first, and we will be sure to communicate any updates to the policy as the rapidly changing generative AI space develops,” read the blog entry.
Bandcamp’s stance on artificial intelligence comes months after Universal Music Group announced they’ve entered “strategic agreements” with Udio, a popular AI music creation tool, in October. A month later, Warner Music Group announced their own licensing deal with a similar app called Suno.
In September, Spotify announced it would tighten AI protections for artists, songwriters, and producers. Such protections include “improved enforcement of impersonation violations,” a new “spam filtering” system, and disclosures that “clearly indicate where and how AI played a role in the creation of a track.”