Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: Getty Images
Bandcamp, a leading music distribution platform supported by indie artists, announced It said on Tuesday it would “put human creativity first” by banning AI-generated songs altogether — and music lovers are happy.
According to the company, music and audio generated “wholly or largely by AI” will no longer be allowed on the platform. Additionally, using AI tools “to impersonate other artists or genres” is also “strictly prohibited”, representing a broader crackdown on the technology.
Fans have reacted happily to this solution, with several “absolutely yes” and a simple “good”.
“This is how you do it,” wrote A user on BlueSky.
“This is one of the many reasons why this is the best website for musicians,” commented Second on Reddit.
For years, musicians and listeners alike have been frustrated by the proliferation of AI-generated music on streaming platforms like Spotify, which have largely ignored the phenomenon.
Most AI songs are clearly spam intended to game the algorithms and collect views and dollars. Some pretend to be real human bands, such as AI-generated rock group Velvet Sundown, to deceive listeners. Yet daring spammers have also tried to impersonate famous musicians, such as when prog rock band King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard pulled their music from Spotify in protest of the platform’s stance on AI, only to be replaced by AI clones.
Spotify’s policies allow AI-generated music, and it only takes action against AI tunes in cases when scammers have used it to fraudulently get people to listen for money. In September, Spotify announced new measures to combat spam and impersonation of real artists, but continued incidents like King Gizzard show that the company is struggling against the influx of AI chums.
Now, Bandcamp’s drawing of a clear line in the sand is being received as a breath of fresh air.
“We believe that human connection found through music is an important part of our society and culture, and music is much more than a product to be consumed,” the company said in the announcement. “Today we are strengthening our mission by clarifying our policy on Generative AI, so musicians can continue to make music, and fans can have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans.”
The company encouraged listeners to report AI-generated content, noting that it would “reserve the right to remove any music suspected of being AI-generated.”
As welcome as Bandcamp’s stance is, it remains to be seen how this policy will be implemented in practice. It seems inevitable that such searches on behalf of AI will result in innocent casualties, and Spotify’s struggles show that even a billion-dollar giant can be overwhelmed by the tide of AI sloppiness.
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