Bandcamp bans AI-generated music and audio

TechCrunch
TechCrunch
10h ago
Bandcamp banned AI-generated music and audio, saying it wants fans to trust that music on the platform was created by humans.
Bandcamp bans AI-generated music and audio
A What happened
Bandcamp announced in a Reddit post on Tuesday that it is banning AI-generated music and audio. Bandcamp’s guidelines say music and audio generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted, and the platform will not allow AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles. AI-generated songs have topped charts on Spotify and Billboard, and AI music can be difficult to distinguish from human-made music. Suno is facing lawsuits from Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group alleging it trained its AI on copyrighted material, and Suno raised a $250 million Series C round in November valuing the company at $2.4 billion.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Bandcamp frames the ban as a trust and creator-support measure: Bandcamp said it wants musicians to keep making music and wants fans to have confidence that music on Bandcamp was created by humans.

  • 2

    Bandcamp’s policy targets both AI generation and AI impersonation: The guidelines prohibit music and audio generated wholly or in substantial part by AI and prohibit using AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles.

Takeaways

Bandcamp now prohibits AI-generated music and audio on its platform and bars AI-based impersonation of other artists or styles.

Topics

Culture & Society Media Technology & Innovation Artificial Intelligence

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