Overseas music streaming platforms have begun labeling songs made with artificial intelligence and letting users filter them out of search results, while Korean platforms have yet to come up with concrete plans. Industry watchers warn that user confusion could grow as AI-generated music spreads rapidly without any information to distinguish it.
Major Korean streaming services including Melon, Flo and Bugs have not introduced separate labels for AI-generated music, industry officials said on the 22nd. The companies say it is difficult to respond because there are no clear criteria for classifying tracks by the degree of AI involvement, nor a clear scope for copyright recognition.
"Songs by so-called 'AI singers' such as Meomureu and Joseon Hip-hop are being distributed on platforms, but we are simply watching the situation because there are no standards for AI music and copyright," an industry official said. "We are discussing it internally so we can respond quickly once guidelines are in place."
Overseas platforms are providing users with information on AI music based on their own criteria and detection technology. YouTube Music began on the 14th of this month attaching separate labels to the playback screens of songs created primarily with generative AI. Users who tap the label can view detailed information. The company identifies AI-generated content through cooperation with music industry partners and its own detection technology, and plans to extend the labels to the YouTube app.
Spotify has been attaching an "AI persona" badge to the profiles of virtual artists created with AI since last month. The badge indicates whether the artist is a real person, rather than whether AI was used in producing the music. Badges are assigned through voluntary disclosure by the artist or a review by the company, and music by such artists is in principle excluded from editorial and algorithmic recommendations.
Deezer, the French streaming company, has labeled AI-generated music since June last year. On the 13th of this month, it said it would introduce a feature within this year allowing users to exclude fully AI-generated songs from search results. The aim is to go beyond disclosing AI generation and give users a choice.
Behind these moves is a surge in AI-generated music. According to Deezer, the average number of fully AI-generated songs arriving on its platform each day rose ninefold in about a year and a half, from 10,000 in January last year to 90,000 in June this year.
Registration filings for music made with AI are also rising in Korea. Applications to register music created with generative AI filed with the Korea Music Copyright Association rose from 133 last year to 759 through September this year, according to the office of Rep. Yoon Yong-keun of the People Power Party. The nine-month total is 5.7 times the full-year figure for last year.
The pace of response, however, differs from that abroad. In August the association put into effect a plan to allow trust registration of AI-generated music, limited to the portions created by humans, but withdrew it after 22 days. It is now developing identification technology to prevent AI-generated music from being falsely registered as ordinary creative work, though the specifics of how it will be applied have not been decided.
"The details of the revision and the timing of its implementation have not been finalized, but we plan to review supplementary measures reflecting discussions at the National Assembly and government level and the results of gathering stakeholder opinions," an association official said.
Experts say criteria are needed so that users can determine whether content was generated by AI. "There will be legal and creative content, but illegal content can also emerge," said Kim Kyung-hwan, an attorney at law firm Minwho. "Order on the internet will be established only when criteria are in place that allow users to screen out AI-generated material."