AI Music Policy

1. Overview

ToneGrid recognizes that AI tools are a legitimate and increasingly important part of modern music production. From AI mastering and melody generation to fully synthetic compositions, these tools offer new creative possibilities for artists and labels worldwide.

Our position is that the industry’s problem is not that AI was used, but that nobody can tell where it was used. So we have put our requirement where it belongs: not on which tool you chose, but on whether you declared it properly. A release that involves AI must say so, must name the tool, and must say which parts of the recording the tool produced — to the standard the streaming services have adopted.

Disclosure is not a penalty. The services that have implemented this standard have stated that they will not down-rank or demonetize a release simply for declaring AI involvement. What does put a release at risk is a disclosure that is missing, incomplete, or contradicted by the audio.

2. What We Accept

ToneGrid accepts any of the following, subject to all other conditions in this Policy:

• AI-assisted music — human-created music that uses AI tools for elements such as mastering, stem separation, mixing, sound design, melody suggestion, lyric assistance, or arrangement. The human creative contribution remains primary.
• AI-generated music with human curation — music where the primary sonic content is AI-generated, but the human contributor has made meaningful creative decisions, including selection, arrangement, and post-production.
• Fully synthetic AI compositions — music generated entirely by AI tools. The Client must own or have been assigned all rights necessary to commercialize the output.

3. Choice of AI Tool

ToneGrid does not maintain a blocklist of AI services, and does not reject releases on the basis of which generative tool produced them. Earlier versions of this Policy excluded specific platforms; those exclusions have been withdrawn.

We took that position for two reasons. Vetting AI platforms on our Clients’ behalf is not something a distributor can do reliably — the licensing and litigation position of any given tool changes faster than a policy page can track it. And a tool-by-tool blocklist gives a DSP nothing useful, whereas a per-track disclosure does.

Responsibility therefore sits with the Client. You choose the tool, you accept its terms, and you warrant under section 6 that you are entitled to commercialize what it produced. Individual DSPs remain free to form their own view of any AI platform, and may act on it regardless of our position.

4. Disclosure Requirements

ToneGrid requires AI disclosure to the granular, element-level standard developed through DDEX and adopted by the major streaming services. For each track that involves AI, you must declare:

• The AI service or tool used — by name. Where you used a tool that is not on our list, name it in the free-text field.
• Which elements the tool produced — any combination of vocals, instrumentation, composition or melody, lyrics, and production (mixing or mastering). Declare every element that applies.

The disclosure is made per track, in either of two places:

• In the dashboard — tick Includes AI under a track’s Track Properties, then complete the AI panel that appears.
• Through the API — send ai_service and ai_elements on POST /releases/{uuid}/tracks or PATCH /tracks/{uuid}. See the API documentation.

Clients and End Users distributing AI-generated or AI-assisted music through ToneGrid must also:

• Comply with any DSP-specific AI content labeling requirements that go beyond the standard disclosure
• Not falsely represent AI-generated content as human-performed, including through artist name, bio, or press materials uploaded alongside a release
• Keep the disclosure accurate if a recording is later revised or replaced

A release whose AI disclosure is incomplete will be rejected at inspection and returned for correction. A disclosure that is missing or false once the release is live is treated as a material misrepresentation under our Terms of Service and may result in takedown, account suspension, or termination under our Anti-Fraud Policy.

5. Restrictions & Exclusions

The following are prohibited regardless of the AI tool used, and regardless of whether they were disclosed:

• AI music that reproduces, samples, or closely imitates the voice, performance, or distinctive style of a specific real artist without their explicit consent
• Mis-attributed AI music — presenting AI-generated content as if performed by a human artist, or omitting the disclosure required by section 4
• AI-generated content used to flood DSP catalogs with low-quality or near-identical releases for the purpose of streaming fraud
• Content the Client is not entitled to commercialize, including output produced in breach of the AI platform’s own terms of service

6. Ownership & Copyright

The legal status of copyright in AI-generated music varies by jurisdiction and continues to evolve. You are solely responsible for assessing the copyright status of AI-generated Content in the territories where it is distributed.

By submitting AI-generated Content to ToneGrid for distribution, you represent and warrant:

• You own or have been duly assigned all rights necessary to commercially distribute the Content
• You have reviewed and complied with the terms of service of the AI platform used to generate the Content, including any restrictions on commercial use or ownership of output
• You have satisfied yourself that the output of that platform can lawfully be commercially exploited in the territories you are distributing to
• Distribution of the Content will not violate the rights of any third party
• The AI disclosure submitted with the Content is complete and accurate

ToneGrid does not vet AI platforms on your behalf, makes no representations as to the copyrightability of AI-generated works, and takes no responsibility for legal disputes arising from the ownership or licensing status of such Content.

7. DSP Compliance

All DSPs have their own and evolving policies on AI-generated content. ToneGrid is not responsible for a DSP’s decision to reject, remove, or demonetize AI-generated Content. DSPs reserve the right to:

• Reject AI-generated releases that do not meet their labeling or quality requirements
• Decline content originating from a specific AI platform, whether or not ToneGrid accepts it
• Apply reduced algorithmic distribution or playlist eligibility to AI-generated content
• Remove AI-generated content retroactively if their policies change or if new information emerges regarding the rights basis
• Clawback royalties paid on AI-generated content later found to infringe third-party rights

ToneGrid will endeavor to communicate DSP policy changes as they relate to AI content promptly, but Clients remain responsible for keeping up to date with individual DSP guidelines.

8. Volume, Quality & Spam Prevention

ToneGrid reserves the right to impose limits on the volume of AI-generated releases submitted by a single Client or End User account within a given period. Automated or bulk submission of AI-generated content — particularly where releases are near-identical or designed to exploit streaming algorithms — is prohibited and will be treated as catalog spam.

ToneGrid’s moderation team may review AI-generated releases for quality and compliance at any time. Releases that do not meet our minimum quality or metadata standards may be rejected without refund of applicable submission fees.

9. Enforcement

Violations of this Policy will be handled in accordance with our Anti-Fraud Policy and Terms of Service. Actions ToneGrid may take include:

• Rejection of releases with an incomplete or inaccurate AI disclosure prior to distribution
• Takedown of distributed Content that violates this Policy
• Withholding of royalties pending investigation
• Issuance of a formal warning under the Anti-Fraud Policy warning system
• Suspension or termination of the Client or End User account

Questions about this policy, or about how to disclose a particular AI workflow, should be directed to content@tonegrid.pro.