Downtown Music's two AI policies do not fully agree

The audio task

An independent artist using an AI tool somewhere in a track's writing, vocal or production chain wants to know, before delivery, whether their distributor will actually accept the release – and what makes an AI-touched track acceptable versus prohibited under that distributor's own rules.

What the documents show

Downtown Music's own Content Policy Rules, last updated October 2025 and covering CD Baby, FUGA and Downtown Artist and Label Services, state that "Unlicensed AI Content" – defined as content "created wholly or primarily by AI models trained on copyright protected sound recordings without a license from the applicable copyright owners" – is prohibited, and that "AI-generated content that mimics popular artists is also not permitted," explicitly including voice, image and likeness. CD Baby's separate, older distribution FAQ states more broadly that "you will not be able to distribute A.I.-generated content" at all, "even if the A.I. generator you are using permits commercial use," because CD Baby "can't ensure unique sounds or rights compliance." The two documents differ in scope: the 2025 Content Policy Rules target unlicensed and artist-mimicking AI content specifically, while the older FAQ reads as a blanket exclusion of AI-generated material. Neither page states which policy takes precedence where they diverge.

Rights status

As Downtown Music states it, distribution requires the deliverer to own or control the necessary rights, and content trained on copyrighted recordings without a licence, or content designed to mimic an existing artist's voice or likeness, is excluded regardless of the underlying AI tool's own terms of service. Neither document evaluates whether any specific AI tool's training data is or is not licensed; that determination is left to the person delivering the content.

What to check before you use it

This is an editorial checklist. Before delivering an AI-assisted track through CD Baby, FUGA or a related Downtown service, confirm which of the two policies is currently in force for the delivery type in question, keep documentation of any licence covering an AI tool's training data or output, and avoid any AI-generated element designed to sound like, or reference, a specific existing artist.

• Does my track rely on an AI tool whose training-data licensing status I cannot document?
• Could any AI-generated element in this track be read as mimicking a specific existing artist's voice or likeness?
• Have I checked the current version of Downtown's Content Policy Rules rather than relying on an older FAQ?

A distributor's AI policy can tighten or loosen between one document and the next; checking the current, dated version before delivery matters more than assuming last year's rule still applies.