As of 2026-11-09, DistroKid accepts music made with AI tools and asks you to disclose AI-generated lyrics, music or audio as "AI Credits", plus separate yes-or-no questions for AI artwork and AI video. TuneCore goes further: it only distributes music made with generative models "trained on fully licensed datasets", and its publishing arm will not register songs written entirely by AI. CD Baby, under Downtown Music's content policy, bans AI content "which mimics popular artists". The three rules ask different questions, so the same track can pass one distributor and fail another.
This page quotes each distributor's own help page, then maps every question to the 8frame node that would trigger it: the music nodes, the image nodes you use for cover art, and the video nodes you use for a visualizer or a music video. It is general information, not legal advice. Distributors change these pages often; the dates below are the "updated" dates their help centres showed on the day we checked.
The three policies side by side
| Question | DistroKid | TuneCore | CD Baby (Downtown) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is AI music accepted? | Yes, "with some rules" | Only from models trained on "fully licensed datasets" | Not banned as such; mimicking popular artists is |
| Disclosure of AI audio | AI Credits per track: lyrics, music, all of the audio, part of the audio | Not described on the framework page | Not described on the policy page |
| AI cover art | A yes/no question at upload | Not covered on the pages we read | Not covered on the pages we read |
| AI video | A yes/no question in DistroVid | Not covered on the pages we read | Not covered on the pages we read |
| Fully AI-written songs in publishing | Not covered | Cannot be registered with PROs/CMOs | Not covered |
| Voice clones of real artists | "No impersonation" without permission | Covered by consent principles | Prohibited when it mimics popular artists |
"Not covered" means the page we read says nothing about it, not that it is allowed.
DistroKid, quoted
DistroKid's page "Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid?" (updated 2026-08-19) opens with: "Yes, DistroKid accepts music created with AI tools, but there are some rules." The rules it lists are four: you must own 100% of the rights, "including the legal right to distribute music created with any AI tools, samples, lyrics, etc."; no impersonation of "someone else's voice, likeness, or identity without permission"; no "mass-generated spam" made "solely to game streaming algorithms"; and no infringement.
AI Credits. The page "What Are AI Credits?" (updated 2026-11-02) says the credits "let you disclose when AI generated part of your track, like the lyrics, vocals, or instrumental performance", and that the services showing them are "currently Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube". You need them for AI-generated audio, lyrics "not written by a human" and compositions "not composed by a human". You do not need them for pitch correction, AI-assisted mixing or mastering, or "AI-assisted workflows".
The upload form, per "How to Fill Out AI Credits" (updated 2026-08-25), offers four boxes: the lyrics, the music, all of the audio, part of the audio. If you tick "All of the audio", DistroKid also asks "whether your artist name is a human or an AI persona".
AI artwork. "What Counts as AI-Generated Artwork?" (updated 2026-11-03): answer yes for "An image created from a text prompt" or "An illustration or other artwork created with AI"; answer no if you "just used AI as a tool", such as touching up an image, adjusting colours, sharpening, or "Removing objects or cleaning up a background".
AI video. "What Counts as an AI-Generated Video?" (updated 2026-11-02), for DistroVid uploads: yes for "A video created from a text prompt or image", "Footage, scenes, or animation created with AI" and "People or performers created with AI"; no for editing footage, colour and sharpening, or removing objects.
The AI tag. A separate page (updated 2026-11-06) explains that a track can carry an AI tag when "an independent service called ACRCloud flags a track as potentially AI-generated". DistroKid calls the tag informational: "It doesn't affect distribution through DistroKid." If the flag is wrong, there is a form, and DistroKid says reviews take "Typically within 24-48 hours".
TuneCore, quoted
TuneCore's "GenAI Music Content Framework" (updated 2026-11-09) is the strictest of the three: "TuneCore only distributes music created using GenAI models trained on fully licensed datasets. Music created using models that rely on unlicensed datasets is not eligible for distribution through TuneCore."
It applies to partial use too: "If GenAI is used at any point in the creation of a track, the tools involved must rely on fully licensed datasets." On the page as we read it, TuneCore named Google Flow Music as an approved partner and said it will add more; the list may have changed since. It also tells artists to check a tool's documentation and terms; if a tool "does not clearly explain where its source material or datasets come from, it may not meet distribution requirements".
The publishing side is a second, separate test. "GenAI and TuneCore Publishing, Explained" (updated 2026-11-09) says the works it represents "must be substantially created by human songwriters" and that compositions "generated entirely by AI" cannot be registered with PROs or CMOs. TuneCore Publishing runs AI detection across its catalogue, and flagged songs "may not be processed". So a recording can be distributable while its song cannot collect songwriting royalties.
CD Baby (Downtown Music), quoted
CD Baby points to "Downtown Music Content Policy Rules" (the document says "Updated: October 2025"), which covers FUGA, CD Baby and Downtown Artist and Label Services. Under manipulative tactics it lists: "AI Manipulation: Content designed to mislead users, such as AI-generated content which mimics popular artists is prohibited." Penalties for trust and safety violations include "take down of content, withholding of payment, financial penalties" and closure of accounts. The same document bans sped-up or slowed-down re-uploads you do not hold rights to.
What the stores add
Spotify's newsroom post of 2025-09-25 sets the store-side rule on voices: "Vocal impersonation is only allowed in music on Spotify when the impersonated artist has authorized the usage." The same post announced a spam filter that will "identify uploaders and tracks engaging in these tactics, tag them, and stop recommending them", support for AI disclosures in credits through DDEX, and said Spotify had "removed over 75 million spammy tracks" in the previous 12 months. Distributor AI Credits are how those disclosures reach the store.
Mapping the questions to 8frame nodes
8frame does not distribute music and does not fill in any distributor form. What it can tell you is which of your steps is generation and which is editing, because that is the line DistroKid draws.
| What you did on 8frame | Price in credits | DistroKid question it touches | Likely answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generated a track with ElevenLabs Music | 81 per started minute, 3 s to 10 min | AI Credits | All of the audio (or part, if you add your own recording) |
| Generated a track with MiniMax Music 3 | 0.27 per second, 10 s to 5 min (60 s = 17) | AI Credits | All of the audio |
| Generated a sung track with MiniMax Music v2 from your lyrics | 5 per generation; needs lyrics of 10 to 3,000 characters | AI Credits | The music and the audio; not "the lyrics" if you wrote them |
| Generated a 30-second clip with Lyria 2 | 13 per 30-second clip | AI Credits | Part of the audio, if layered into a human recording |
| Made cover art with an image model (Nano Banana 2, Seedream 5, Midjourney V8) | 11 at 1K / 6 / 32 per job of four | AI artwork | Yes |
| Removed the background from your own photo | 12 per image | AI artwork | No ("cleaning up a background") |
| Upscaled your own photo (Topaz, BRIA) | 11 per 24 MP block / 6 | AI artwork | No (touching up, sharpening) |
| Animated your cover or made scenes with a video model | per model, e.g. Kling v3 Standard 86 for 5 s with sound | AI video (DistroVid) | Yes ("created from a text prompt or image") |
| Cut your own footage on the Video Editor timeline | not a generation | AI video | No |
For TuneCore the question is different: not what you made, but how the model you used was trained. On the page as we read it, the only approved partner named was Google Flow Music, and we did not see any of the music models on 8frame named there. If you plan to release through TuneCore, check with TuneCore before you generate audio for the release.
For publishing, the safest pattern on any distributor is the one TuneCore spells out: write the lyrics and the melody yourself, and use generated audio, if at all, as a recording of a human-written song. MiniMax Music v2 fits that pattern because it requires your lyrics.
Practical checklist before upload
- Keep the board. The board you made the release on shows which nodes generated audio, artwork and video and which files you uploaded yourself, which helps you answer the AI Credits form honestly.
- No voices of real artists. Do not prompt for a named singer's voice or style. DistroKid, CD Baby and Spotify all treat unauthorised impersonation as a removal reason.
- Tick the boxes per track, not per album. A single generated instrumental on a human album needs its own credit.
- Answer the artwork and video questions separately. A human-recorded track with an AI cover is still "AI artwork: yes".
- Commercial use. On 8frame, commercial use of outputs is cleared on paid plans. That covers 8frame's side; the distributor's rules still apply on theirs.
- Do not mass-upload variations. Ten near-identical generated tracks under ten titles is the pattern every policy above calls spam.
For the visual side of a release, see AI music video with a finished song and the lyric video recipe. For what each music model costs, see AI music and voice price by model.
FAQ
Does DistroKid accept AI-generated music in 2026? Yes. Its help page says it "accepts music created with AI tools", provided you own the rights, do not impersonate anyone, do not upload spam and do not infringe. You disclose AI parts through AI Credits.
Do I have to tell DistroKid my cover art is AI? Yes, if the image was created from a text prompt or with AI. Editing your own photo (colours, sharpening, removing objects or a background) counts as using AI as a tool, and DistroKid says to answer no.
Will TuneCore distribute a track made with an AI music generator? Only if the model was trained on fully licensed datasets, and that applies even if AI was used at one step. When we read the page it named Google Flow Music as an approved partner and asked artists to check other tools' documentation; confirm the current list with TuneCore.
Can a fully AI-written song collect publishing royalties? Not through TuneCore Publishing: it says compositions generated entirely by AI cannot be registered with PROs or CMOs. A recording can still be distributable where the song is not registrable.
My track got an AI tag on DistroKid. Is it blocked? No. DistroKid says the ACRCloud tag is informational and does not affect distribution; each store decides how to display it. If the flag is wrong, DistroKid has a form to contest it.
Sources
- DistroKid Help Center, "Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid?" (updated 2026-08-19): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/41182362733715, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- DistroKid Help Center, "What Are AI Credits?" (updated 2026-11-02): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/50784235803411, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- DistroKid Help Center, "How to Fill Out AI Credits" (updated 2026-08-25): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/50784709021971, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- DistroKid Help Center, "What Counts as AI-Generated Artwork?" (updated 2026-11-03): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/56465947495955, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- DistroKid Help Center, "What Counts as an AI-Generated Video?" (updated 2026-11-02): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/56465901546515, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- DistroKid Help Center, "Why does my track have an AI tag?" (updated 2026-11-06): support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/57059105736083, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- TuneCore Help, "TuneCore's GenAI Music Content Framework" (updated 2026-11-09): support.tunecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/46914166185236, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- TuneCore Help, "GenAI and TuneCore Publishing, Explained" (updated 2026-11-09): support.tunecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/53091759028116, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- CD Baby Help, "Downtown Music Content Policy Rules" (document dated October 2025): support.cdbaby.com/hc/en-us/articles/41589514049037, checked 2026-11-09 (manual check, may drift)
- Spotify Newsroom, AI protections post, 2025-09-25: newsroom.spotify.com/2025-09-25/spotify-strengthens-ai-protections, checked 2026-11-09
- 8frame prices, defaults and limits: the 8frame app, checked 2026-11-09
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