Tidal demonetizes 100% AI music but lets it play

Tidal announced a new policy that takes effect July 15th. Tracks identified as 100 percent AI-generated will wear an icon — a small mark on the track page — and will stop earning royalties. The music isn't banned; it's just no longer paid.

The company's reasoning is straightforward: royalties should go to works "directly produced, written, and performed by people." So AI tracks that never touched a human hand don't qualify. The policy doesn't spell out what tools Tidal uses to make that call, but the effect is clear — if the music is fully synthetic, the royalties go elsewhere.

This is a meaningful middle ground between the extremes. A full ban would be heavy-handed; letting AI in without distinction would be lazy. Tidal is marking the difference and adjusting the money.

Why this matters for us: anyone who's built a side hustle uploading beats or DJ sets to streaming — the cousins running the bodega playlists, the aunties spinning at quinceañeras, the neighborhood producers — this is real money, and the policy draws a line around who gets it.