Q: What does Bandcamp’s new generative AI policy say? A: Bandcamp bans AI-generated music with a policy stating that music made wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted, and any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited. Fans can report suspicious tracks and Bandcamp reserves the right to remove music on suspicion. Q: Why did Bandcamp implement this policy? A: The policy aims to protect working musicians from spam, voice and style theft, and to clean up recommendation feeds so buyers know music was created by humans. It puts a human-first focus on the platform and contrasts with services that accept AI tracks by default. Q: How will Bandcamp enforce the AI ban and what challenges exist? A: Enforcement relies partly on listener reports and Bandcamp’s right to remove suspected AI-generated music, but proving when a track is “wholly or in substantial part” AI is difficult. The article notes listeners often can’t tell the difference and many songs blend human and AI elements, complicating detection. Q: How can listeners spot likely AI-made tracks before saving them on Bandcamp? A: Listen for an “uncanny valley” vocal quality, overly uniform timing, or hollow style mashups, and check release pages for red flags like dozens of new tracks, generic titles, missing credits, or weird metadata. Use basic vetting such as scanning comments and socials, reverse-image-searching cover art, or checking spectrograms and loudness readouts; none of these prove AI alone but several together raise a red flag. Q: What platform-level measures did the article recommend to support the ban? A: The article suggests clear AI labeling like an “AI elements” badge, upload attestations detailing whether AI was used, and open content credentials for cryptographic provenance so edits are traceable. It also recommends audio fingerprinting and rate limits to curb mass uploads, penalties for impersonation, and artist verification or voice-rights tools. Q: What steps can artists take now to guard their work against AI misuse? A: Artists should publish full credits, include production metadata or stems, and state their own AI policies on bios and release pages to build trust. The piece also advises registering works and voice likeness where possible and sharing behind-the-scenes clips to show the human process. Q: Does Bandcamp’s policy ban artists from using AI to generate their own voice? A: Bandcamp’s wording clearly forbids impersonating other artists and bans music made wholly or in substantial part by AI, but the article notes the policy language suggests using an artist’s own generated voice may not be explicitly prohibited. This ambiguity is part of why accountability, disclosure, and clearer attestations are needed. Q: Will Bandcamp’s ban alone restore trust in music discovery across platforms? A: No; the article argues rules alone won’t fix discovery because listeners often can’t tell AI from human-made music and detection is hard. Restoring trust requires visible labels, verifiable metadata, smarter tools, enforcement, and fan vigilance.