Bandcamp bans purely AI-generated music from its platform

On Tuesday, Bandcamp introduced on Reddit that it’s going to not allow AI-generated music on its platform. “Music and audio that’s generated wholly or in substantial half by AI is just not permitted on Bandcamp,” the corporate wrote in a publish to the r/bandcamp subreddit. The brand new coverage additionally prohibits “any use of AI instruments to impersonate different artists or kinds.”

The coverage attracts a line that some within the music group have debated: The place does instrument use finish and full automation start? AI fashions aren’t artists in themselves, since they lack personhood and inventive intent. However individuals do use AI instruments to make music, and the spectrum runs from utilizing AI for minor help (cleansing up audio, suggesting chord progressions) to typing a immediate and letting a mannequin generate a whole monitor. Bandcamp’s coverage targets the latter finish of that spectrum whereas leaving room for human artists who incorporate AI instruments into a bigger artistic course of.

The announcement emphasised the platform’s want to guard its group of human artists. “The truth that Bandcamp is house to such a vibrant group of actual individuals making unbelievable music is one thing we wish to defend and keep,” the corporate wrote. Bandcamp requested customers to flag suspected AI-generated content material by its reporting instruments, and the corporate mentioned it reserves “the suitable to take away any music on suspicion of being AI generated.”

As generative AI instruments make it trivial to supply limitless portions of music, artwork, and textual content, this writer as soon as argued that platforms might must actively protect areas for human expression quite than allow them to drown in machine-generated output. Bandcamp’s choice appears to maneuver in that course, but it surely additionally leaves room for platforms like Suno, which primarily host AI-generated music.

Two platforms, two approaches, one flood

The coverage contrasts with Spotify, which explicitly permits AI-generated music, though its customers have expressed frustration with an inflow of AI-generated tracks created by instruments like Suno and Udio. A few of these AI music points predate the newest instruments, nonetheless. In 2023, Spotify eliminated tens of 1000’s of AI-generated songs from distributor Boomy after discovering proof of synthetic streaming fraud, however the flood simply saved coming.