Bandcamp has announced it will no longer allow AI-generated music to be hosted on its platform. In a post shared on Reddit, the company’s support team revealed their plans to implement a policy prohibiting “any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles,” elaborating more firmly that “music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.”
“We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans,” the note continues. “If you encounter music or audio that appears to be made entirely or with heavy reliance on generative AI, please use our reporting tools to flag the content for review by our team. We reserve the right to remove any music on suspicion of being AI generated.”
Bandcamp’s new policy leaves room for musicians to use AI for small tasks when creating their music, such as inspiration for a melody or cleaning up audio. However, by working to take down music that is “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI,” Bandcamp appears to be targeting uploads to their service that were designed by an AI model in response to a prompt, especially uploads with little to no altering by a human.
Other streaming platforms, such as Spotify, have not yet cracked down on a flood of AI music on their platform. Sienna Rose, an AI R&B artist, has three songs in Spotify’s Top 50 viral chart with millions of plays each, even though Rose’s page is marked as a “Verified Artist” by Spotify anyway.
Meanwhile, AI music creation tools like Suno and Udio are rapidly being embraced by record labels, too. Warner Music Group went from suing Suno to signing a licensing deal with the AI song generator, while Universal Music Group is collaborating with Udio on a “new commercial music creation, consumption, and streaming experience.”
Read Bandcamp’s full statement about the new policy below:
