Mathew PaquetChecklist · 4 min read
The AI Music Check
Four checks for any AI jingle or music bed in your company's videos: where it came from, when to disclose it, whether the label can come off, and what to keep on file.
On October 14, 2026, YouTube Music started putting a label on songs made mainly with AI. YouTube says the label is coming to the main YouTube app too, the same app your company's videos live on. It hasn't said when, or whether it will ever show on ads.
Does the label cost you money? YouTube says no. In its own words, disclosing AI content alone won't limit a video's audience or impact its eligibility to earn money.
Two things do cost money on YouTube:
Before you ask whether to disclose a track, ask whether you were allowed to use it. Note the source and the plan for every AI track: a free tier, a paid tier, or a licensed library.
Take Suno, one of the biggest AI music tools (you type a prompt, it makes a full song):
The new music label is for record labels and distributors. But anyone who uploads, your company channel included, has to disclose realistic AI content, and YouTube's list includes AI that creates music that's the main focus of the video. For AI music, the label can appear on the video player itself.
How: you disclose it when you upload. In YouTube Studio, the upload's Details step asks whether the video contains altered or synthetic content. Answer yes for the first two.
You don't have to disclose these. AI help with a script, a title or a thumbnail. Cloning your own voice for voice-overs or dubs.
Check 3: does the file carry content credentials?
C2PA metadata is a content credential inside a file that says it was made by AI. YouTube says if a video carries it, or you made it with YouTube's own AI tools, the label stays. If your track carries one, assume the label will show and that you won't be able to remove it.
More files will carry marks like this. Since August 2, 2026, the EU's AI Act says companies whose systems generate audio have to mark it in a machine-readable way, so it can be detected as AI.
Check 4: keep the record
If a label shows up, or someone claims your track, this is your answer.
Tool: [e.g. Suno]
Plan when made: [FREE / PAID PLAN NAME]
Date made: [DATE]
Prompt: [THE EXACT PROMPT]
Music is the main focus? [YES / NO]
Disclosed at upload? [YES / NO, DATE]
File carries content credentials? [YES / NO / DON'T KNOW]
One judgment call. Where the music carries trust, your brand's sound or a founder's story, think about whether you want a human on it. In a blind test for Deezer, 97% couldn't tell fully AI songs from a human one, and 80% said fully AI music should be clearly labelled.
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List every AI track in your current videos and ads, with the tool and the plan it was made on.
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