Study Finds 40% Of Music Released In July Featured AI

Artificial intelligence is becoming a much bigger part of music creation than many listeners may realize.

A new study from SubmitHub analyzed more than one million releases using its SH Labs AI detection tool. According to the findings, 23.2% of tracks released globally in July appeared to be fully AI-generated, while another 15.3% contained AI-generated audio that was later modified or processed by humans.

Combined, that means roughly 38.5% of the music analyzed involved AI-generated elements in some capacity.

The results also highlight how difficult AI detection can be. SubmitHub said that 31% of artists contacted about tracks flagged for AI claimed they had not used AI tools, raising questions about both detection accuracy and how artists define AI-assisted creation.

The debate is already reaching platforms, labels and rights organizations. Bandcamp and Traxsource have introduced measures around AI-generated music, while labels have proposed chart rules requiring eligible tracks to be “substantially human-made.”

With AI tools becoming easier to access, the question is no longer whether AI will become part of music. It already is. The bigger debate now is how much transparency listeners should have about how a track was created.