Authorship under automation - The Wire

"On 13 January 2026, Bandcamp published "Keeping Bandcamp Human", declaring that "music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp", alongside a strict prohibition on AI-enabled impersonation of other artists or styles. The post invites users to report releases that appear to rely heavily on generative tools, and it explicitly reserves the right to remove music "on suspicion of being AI-generated"."

""AI" currently operates as a single alarm word for a sprawling range of tools, techniques, and infrastructures. Bandcamp's policy phrase - "wholly or in substantial part" - leans on exactly this flattening, implying a measurable cut-off point. Yet contemporary music-making already runs through predictive and algorithmic processes - pitch correction, time-stretching, transient detection, beat mapping, generative "assist" features buried inside plug-ins, to name a few. Some of these are marketed as AI today; many will become ordinary defaults tomorrow."

Bandcamp prohibited music and audio generated wholly or in substantial part by AI and banned AI-enabled impersonation of other artists or styles, inviting user reports and reserving the right to remove works suspected of being AI-generated. The policy frames music as human cultural dialogue and musicians as vital members of communities and social fabric, positioning the platform against industrial-scale generative production. The phrase "wholly or in substantial part" implies a measurable cutoff despite AI encompassing a sprawling range of tools; contemporary music-making already uses predictive and algorithmic processes such as pitch correction, time-stretching and generative assist features. The policy risks assuming an audible binary can be policed while underestimating routine collaboration with systems.

Read at The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music