Does DistroKid allow AI music? DistroKid's AI rules and AI credits

What DistroKid's AI policy says

DistroKid accepts AI music and asks about it at upload through AI credits. Its help pages block normal reading, so we read the same official text through the help centre's public article feed.

• DistroKid says it accepts music created with AI tools, but with rules.
• You must own 100% of the rights to everything in the release, including AI-generated material, samples and lyrics.
• Music made solely to game streaming algorithms or flood platforms with generic content is not accepted.

In DistroKid's own words

DistroKid accepts music created with AI tools, but there are some rules. ... Your music cannot mimic or copy someone else's voice, likeness, or identity without permission.— DistroKid Help: Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid?, checked 15 October 2026

AI Credits let you disclose when AI generated part of your track ... You don't need AI credits if you just used AI as a tool:— DistroKid Help: What Are AI Credits?, checked 15 October 2026

When you upload a track, we'll ask if any of it was generated by AI.— DistroKid Help: How to Fill Out AI Credits, checked 15 October 2026

Do you have to disclose AI on DistroKid?

DistroKid expects AI use to be disclosed. Disclosure in our table: Required.

• At upload DistroKid asks if any of the track was generated by AI. If yes, you pick the lyrics, the music, all of the audio, or part of the audio.
• If you pick all of the audio, DistroKid also asks whether the artist name is a human or an AI persona.
• Using AI only as a tool, such as pitch correction, auto-tune or AI-assisted mixing and mastering, does not need an AI credit.
• DistroKid says Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube currently show AI credits to listeners.

Voice clones and sound-alikes on DistroKid

Not allowed without permission: music cannot mimic or copy someone else's voice, likeness or identity.

Money: monetisation and stores

• Stores can still reject or remove releases under their own rules.

DistroKid AI policy changelog

• 15 September 2026: Universal Music Group and Capitol sued DistroKid in Delaware over AI-generated and infringing uploads. The case is ongoing. Source: Music Business Worldwide: revelations from UMG's lawsuit against DistroKid (third-party source).
• 13 April 2026: DistroKid published its AI Credits help article, asking uploaders whether AI generated lyrics, music or audio. Source: DistroKid Help: What Are AI Credits?.

Not yet confirmed on an official page

These points come from press, search snippets or pages we could not read in full. We are re-checking them by hand.

• DistroKid's help pages block normal reading (HTTP 403); text was read through the help centre's public article feed. Re-check wording in a browser.
• Whether answering the AI question is mandatory for every upload: the help page says DistroKid will ask, not that an answer is required.
• The 2026-04-13 date is the help article's creation date, not an announced launch date.

How DistroKid's rules fit with the stores

DistroKid is one layer. When it accepts an AI song, each store it delivers to (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok and the rest) still applies its own AI rules, and some stores will not take AI releases from some distributors. If you used an AI generator, its terms decide whether you own the song in the first place.

Rules change fast. Our verdict for DistroKid: Allowed with disclosure, checked 15 October 2026. Before a release that depends on it, read the linked source yourself. Not legal advice.