Qobuz begins taggging AI-generated content as part of AI Charter
Qobuz has joined Deezer in tagging AI-genreated content in order to protect artists and listeners from AI content.
Qobuz has announced that it will be joining the likes of Deezer in tagging content added to its streaming service that is 100% AI-generated. This move builds on principles set out in Qobuz’s AI Charter, which keeps human creation and curation at the heart of the platform.
Qobuz has stated that it is using a proprietary tool to begin anaysing its catalogue so it can detect and tag content that is AI-generated. These tags will become visible on the platform in the coming months.
The hi-res steaming platform has emphasised that it will maintain and promote a human-led approach when it comes to both the creation and editorial sides of its service. Qobuz has committed itself to 100% human-led recommendations, including Qobuzissimes, Albums of the Week, and playlists, which are all driven by human teams. This ensures that “industrially generated AI content” is excluded from “prominent areas” of the platform.
Music discovery will also remain human-centric. Qobuz’s Discover page is a blend of its editorial team’s choices and hot tips, and personalised recommendations from its “recommendation engine”. As a result, AI-generated tracks are excluded, which means greater visibility and compensation for real artists and creators.
Qobuz is already taking great efforts to stamp out fraudulent behaviour on its streaming platform. It has existing tools in place to detect fraudulent uploads, and says it will keep developing these technologies to identify fraud streaming patterns, along with AI content.
Qobuz deems the impersonating of artists and the manipulation of streaming activity (like using bots to boost plays), as fraudulent, and reserves the right to refuse or remove such content. All this protects human artists by ensuring their royalties aren’t watered down by fraudsters, since “fraudulent streams are excluded from reports and royalty calculation”.
Closing out its announcement, Qobuz acknowledged the ever-growing challenges presented by AI-generated content in music streaming today. Citing a CISAC study, it states that real artists could lose out on an eye-watering $11.7 billion or so by 2028 due to AI-generated content. Fair compensation has long been a discussion and pain point within music streaming – which is now a dominant force in the industry. It is vital that streaming platforms implement measures, like Qobuz, in order to protect human artists and creators from losing opportunities and revenue to mushrooming AI slop.