WhoSung

Guide · Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, Tidal, Apple Music

How to tell if a song is AI

Labels, creator statements and credits come first. What each streaming app shows, what a detector can and cannot prove, and when to say "unconfirmed".

By the WhoSung desk · published Oct 22, 2026 · updated Oct 22, 2026

Nobody can tell reliably by ear. Deezer’s survey with Ipsos found 97% of people could not pick the fully AI-generated songs in a blind test (Deezer, Oct 13, 2026). So start with what is written down, in this order.

1. Did the creator say so?

The strongest answer comes from the people behind the music. The Velvet Sundown called itself “a synthetic music project” in a statement on its own accounts (The FADER). Eddie Dalton’s creator, Dallas Little, said his videos are “clearly labeled as AI-generated” (Showbiz411). Check the artist’s bio on each streaming service, their Instagram or TikTok bio, and interviews.

2. Does the platform show a label?

Each service labels something different:

  • Spotify labels the artist identity, not the music. “AI Persona” means the artist disclosed it; “Likely AI Persona” means Spotify reviewed the profile and decided. The badge “doesn’t apply if you only use AI tools to make your music” (Spotify Support). Song-level AI credits, if the distributor sends them, sit in Song Credits; Spotify says “the absence of a credit doesn’t mean AI wasn’t used” (Spotify).
  • Deezer tags albums that contain fully AI-generated tracks with an “AI-generated content” box (Deezer Support).
  • YouTube Music shows a label on the player for songs “created primarily using generative AI” (YouTube). Ars Technica notes that a missing label “should not be taken as proof” that a person made it (Ars Technica).
  • Tidal labels recordings it determines are wholly AI-generated (Tidal).
  • Apple Music collects AI tags from labels and distributors, but as of August 2026 they were not visible to listeners (AppleInsider).

Our platform pages track each service’s current rules.

3. What has reputable press found?

Good reporting asks the platform or the creator directly. The BBC got Deezer to say many of Sienna Rose’s songs “are detected and flagged” as AI (BBC). Reporting is weaker than a statement or a label, which is why we mark artists with only press evidence as suspected, with wording like “reported” or “unconfirmed”.

4. Treat detectors and “red flags” as hints

No social media, many releases in a short time and no live shows are common signs, but real artists can have all three. Detectors make mistakes too: Deezer puts its own tool at 99.8% accurate, which still means some human tracks get flagged (MBW). The metal band Zao was flagged as AI by its distributor and had to post its recording session before the flag was lifted (VICE).

What we do

Every artist page on WhoSung uses one verdict from our evidence ladder: creator disclosed, platform labeled, suspected, human confirmed or unclear. If you think we got one wrong, use “Disagree? Send evidence” on the page.

Sources

  1. Spotify Support: AI Persona badges checked Oct 22, 2026
  2. Spotify: Strengthens AI protections checked Oct 22, 2026
  3. Deezer: AI Content Tagging checked Oct 22, 2026
  4. YouTube Music adds new labels for AI music checked Oct 22, 2026
  5. Ars Technica: YouTube Music begins labeling AI songs checked Oct 22, 2026
  6. Tidal: AI Policy checked Oct 22, 2026
  7. AppleInsider: Apple Music AI disclosure labels checked Oct 22, 2026
  8. The FADER: The Velvet Sundown checked Oct 22, 2026
  9. BBC: Sienna Rose checked Oct 22, 2026
  10. VICE: Zao flagged by TuneCore checked Oct 22, 2026
  11. MBW: Deezer AI toggle and accuracy checked Oct 22, 2026