Tidal Declares It Will Not Pay Royalties for AI-Generated Music

Music streaming service Tidal announced on June 29, 2026, that it will not pay royalties for music entirely generated by AI. In a statement published via email to users and on its official website, the company explained, “Tidal’s priority is to ensure that royalties are reliably paid to original works directly produced, written, and performed by humans.” It explicitly stated, “We will not intentionally attribute royalties to music we identify as entirely AI-generated.”

The Wave of AI Generation Sweeping Music Streaming

As with many areas of the internet, the music streaming industry is flooded with AI-generated content. Spotify has promised labeling and filtering as countermeasures against AI spam, but has also embraced the overall trend of AI music. AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown and Breaking Rust have garnered millions of streams on Spotify, generating revenue for the service. In May 2025, Spotify announced a partnership with Universal, reportedly offering features that allow fans to create covers and remixes of their favorite songs. Advanced generative models like OpenAI’s recently announced GPT-5.6 (see OpenAI Unveils GPT-5.6: Three Models Sol, Terra, Luna) are beginning to be applied to music, and the quality and quantity of AI-generated compositions are expected to expand further.

Tidal’s Differentiation Strategy

Tidal is not a giant in this field. With Apple Music, YouTube, and Spotify dominating the market, Tidal has built a reputation by focusing on artist collaboration, larger revenue shares, and high-quality audio delivery. For listeners who care about bitrates and FLAC, or users with high-performance digital-to-analog converters, Tidal is the platform of choice. This response to AI-generated music can be seen as a strategy to further strengthen that quality-oriented and human-creation-focused brand image.

The Line Between Fully Automated Generation

and AI Assistance

An important point in Tidal’s announcement is that it is not completely removing AI-generated music from the platform. The company stated, “Artists should have the freedom to create using AI tools, and listeners should be able to autonomously choose the types of content they consume.” Currently, tracks by The Velvet Sundown and Breaking Rust remain available on Tidal. Breaking Rust’s biography explicitly stated it was AI-generated country music, while The Velvet Sundown had no biography at all.

The company’s policy is limited to “100% AI-generated” music. That is, tracks generated by AI cannot be monetized and no royalties will accrue. They are also not eligible for direct-to-fan sales. Works where humans have used AI tools as an aid are not excluded under current policy.

Labeling and Content Integrity Standards

Like Spotify, Tidal says it will identify AI-generated content on the platform, apply labeling, and enforce “higher content integrity standards” for AI-generated music. Spotify issued a similar statement last year, but the reality is that many AI-generated tracks without labels still exist. It remains unclear how accurately Tidal will achieve identification and whether the new policy will be effectively enforced.

Balancing Artist Freedom and Revenue

Tidal’s statement acknowledges that the era of AI-generated music has only just begun. “We recognize that the debate over whether AI-generated music (e.g., music developed from properly licensed models) should receive royalties is ongoing. This discussion will continue as technology advances and rights holders and AI music platforms develop licensing models,” the company said.

Tidal’s approach is centered not on complete exclusion but on stopping monetization and ensuring transparency. This draws a line that preserves artists’ creative freedom while preventing AI-generated content from earning revenue equivalent to human works. How this balance will affect the industry remains to be seen.

Comparison with Competitors and Industry Impact

While Spotify has stated it will address AI spam, it also actively utilizes AI music for monetization. Apple Music and YouTube Music have not yet introduced clear policies like Tidal’s. Tidal’s decision could become a differentiating factor in the streaming market. For Tidal, which emphasizes artist support and high-audio-quality user segments, a strict stance on AI-generated content is a means to strengthen its brand core.

However, with the rapid advancement of AI technology, the boundary between fully automatic generation and human creation is becoming blurred. If a human adds lyrics to an AI-generated melody, is that “fully AI-generated” or human creation? How Tidal’s policy handles such gray areas will be a challenge in implementation.

Editorial Opinion

Tidal’s decision can be seen as presenting a benchmark for how AI-generated content is treated in the streaming industry. In the short term, it can be praised as a clear signal of artist protection, but actual identification accuracy and operational costs pose challenges. If the labeling mechanism does not function effectively, the policy risks becoming a hollow formality. Additionally, by excluding AI-generated music from monetization, there is a possibility that content diversity on the platform may be diminished. In the long term, as the line between AI-assisted creation and human works becomes more complex, it remains to be seen whether Tidal’s policy will become an industry standard or remain a niche-specific strategy. Until licensing frameworks for AI models are developed, each platform is likely to continue experimenting, and Tidal’s move marks a milestone. The editorial team believes it is necessary to continuously monitor the policy’s effectiveness and its impact on both artists and listeners. Furthermore, defining the gray area that exists between fully automatic generation and human participation will become a focal point for future discussions.

References

• Tidal Says It Won’t Pay Royalties for AI-Generated Music - 404 Media — Published June 29, 2026