With the existential threat that music derived from Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses to human creators and the integrity of the music industry—and the threat it poses to the integrity of media coverage of music specifically—Saving Country Music is enacting a new policy that will affect all music coverage, and all music submitted to the website for coverage and review.
Beginning in 2026, all music submissions to Saving Country Music via artists, publicists, labels, or any other means of distribution must disclose whether the music was composed either in part or in full by AI (Artificial Intelligence), or if it is clean of AI use. Similarly, this information will then be disclosed to the public as part of any music coverage.
Furthermore, any music that is disclosed or found to have been composed by AI either through the majority of the lyricism (50% or more), or via ANY (1% or more) AI-derived music (meaning audible sounds), this music will be disqualified from receiving review coverage or other editorial opportunities at Saving Country Music.
For the record, this does not exclude AI music from being covered at Saving Country Music in total. As part of the outlet’s ongoing coverage of this rapidly growing phenomenon, SCM will continue to disclose and investigate how AI is affecting the music marketplace and the human creators within it.
Saving Country Music also strongly encourages all other media outlets to adopt similar policies to help ensure public trust in music media, and to help protect human creators. Though music media and the media in general continue to see a decline in agency, cultural relevancy, and public standing, media outlets can and should play a critical role in helping the public navigate this new paradigm and the threat on music’s integrity posed by AI’s wide proliferation.
Irrespective of any media outlet’s specific opinions on AI coverage, they should draft and enact similar AI policy statements and disclose them publicly to help ensure the integrity of the music marketplace, and clear guidelines for music industry professionals to follow.
Even with Saving Country Music’s policy, it is a possibility, if not an inevitability that at some point in the future, music composed by AI will be covered by Saving Country Music without prior knowledge of AI’s involvement. In these instances, this music coverage will not be taken down, but will be updated with this information as soon as it is confirmed.
This policy does not exclude music written by human creators who might use AI-based tools as stand-ins for dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias to derive or verify historical/geographical/current event information, or even to help rhyme a line or two of verse. However, the majority of written words comprising the composition must be authored by a human creator, and accompanied by no AI-generated sounds.
No different than disclosing Explicit Lyrics to songs sent to radio or streaming services, it is the assertion of Saving Country Music that all labels, publicists, and artists should start disclosing when music utilized AI technology in part or in full, or when music is “clean” of such content (i.e. marking tracks/albums “AI = clean”).
Similarly, it is the assertion of Saving Country Music that streaming service should mark tracks utilizing AI, or should mark tracks that are certified free of AI. Charting entities such as Billboard should enact similar policies, and segregate AI-created music from human-created music on charts, at least until the full effects of AI on the music marketplace are understood. Entities such as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, i.e. Grammys) should implement tools and resources to help with the labeling of music, and the protection of human creators.
Due to the fresh nature of this policy, a 60-day grace period will be recognized when publicists, labels, and artists will be educated and requested to adhere to this policy before it will be enacted in full (beginning March 1st). During and after this grace period, specific queries will be made to artists and their representatives if necessary to confirm the use of AI in the music, or not. This new AI policy will also been added to Saving Country Music’s general Submission Guidelines.
AI music is here, and there is no stopping the proliferation of the music, the adoption of it by the public, and the disruptions this phenomenon will cause to human creators. AI music and its creators also should have some agency to share this music in ways that are responsible, and that do not adversely affect human creators directly. However, we all can take reasonable, responsible, and pragmatic steps to ensure the population of AI music into the music marketplace does not cause such catastrophic upheaval, it undermines and implodes the already fragile and inequitable ecosystem for recorded music.
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