Bandcamp bans AI music

Online music distribution platform, Bandcamp has banned users from sharing music that, “Is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI.” The site also specifically calls out tracks that have been generated by AI in the style of established artists, which emerged as a popular use case for the technology early in its public availability.

In a recent statement, Bandcamp said, “We believe that the human connection found through music is a vital part of our society and culture, and that music is much more than a product to be consumed. It’s the result of a human cultural dialog stretching back before the written word.

“Similarly, musicians are more than mere producers of sound. They are vital members of our communities, our culture, and our social fabric. Bandcamp was built to directly connect artists and their fans, and to make it easy for fans to support artists equitably so that they can keep making music.

“Today we are fortifying our mission by articulating our policy on generative AI, so that musicians can keep making music, and so that fans have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans.

“Our guidelines for generative AI in music and audio are as follows:

• Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.
• Any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited in accordance with our existing policies prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement.”

Bandcamp urges its community to report content that appears to be made entirely or with heavy reliance on generative AI. The site states, “With this policy, we’re putting human creativity first.”

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