Music streaming service TIDAL announced on June 29, 2026 that it will stop monetizing tracks created with generative AI. The policy targets "100% AI-generated music" — songs created wholly or substantially with text-prompt-based tools — and will roll out starting July 15, 2026.
June 29, 2026 · TIDAL
TIDAL Pulls the Plug on AI Music Royalties
The streaming service will stop paying royalties on "wholly AI-generated" tracks and block their direct-to-fan sales — and from around July 15 it will tag AI music with a visible badge so listeners can spot it.
0
royalties paid on tracks deemed 100% AI-generated
Jul 15
"AI" badge starts appearing to listeners
44%
of songs uploaded daily are AI-generated
The daily upload flood
Of every 100 tracks uploaded each day, nearly half are now machine-made.
How the major services respond to AI music
TIDAL
AI badge + royalty cutoff + direct-sale block for 100% AI tracks
Spotify
AI music labeling and stronger anti-spam measures
Apple Music
Introduction of transparency tags
Deezer
Detection tools and exclusion from recommendations
Most platforms stop at labeling and filtering — TIDAL goes further by cutting off the money.
Welcomed
Developers and listeners largely back the move to curb low-quality AI uploads and protect real artists. Musician group UMAW praised demonetizing fully AI tracks and letting listeners filter them out.
Still evolving
The policy is a "living document." TIDAL may extend rules to "substantially AI-generated" work as detection improves. With enforcement from July 15, its real-world effectiveness will be tested.
Where the money goes
Royalties prioritize the people who "directly produced, written, and performed" the music.
TIDAL says it is "not denying technological advancement" — it uses AI for moderation, metadata and a lyric tool — but it pledges not to train AI on uploaded tracks, citing protection of organic creativity and listener choice.
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