Apollo Standard

Policy on Artificial Intelligence–Generated Music and Personas

Effective Date: August 20, 2026

Apollo is a music streaming platform built to support, protect, and showcase music created and performed by real human artists. Apollo prohibits AI-generated artists, personas, and substantially AI-generated musical compositions, subject only to the specific exceptions stated in this policy.

Uploading prohibited AI-generated music is grounds for immediate termination from Apollo and may result in financial penalties where permitted by applicable law and agreed to under Apollo’s Terms of Service.

1. Zero-Tolerance Policy for AI Artists and AI Music

Apollo does not permit the distribution, publication, streaming, promotion, or monetization of substantially or entirely AI-generated musical works.

Prohibited material includes:

• Fully AI-generated songs, instrumentals, beats, or compositions.
• AI-generated singers, rappers, musicians, bands, DJs, or other artificial performers.
• AI-generated or AI-operated artist personas.
• AI-generated vocals intended to replace a human performer.
• AI voice clones or impersonations.
• Entire beats or backing tracks generated primarily through generative AI.
• Mass-produced or automatically generated music catalogs.
• Complete musical works created primarily through text-to-music, prompt-to-song, or similar generative systems.
• AI-generated material falsely represented as human-created.
• AI-assisted mixing.
• AI-assisted mastering.
• Automated AI mixing or mastering services applied to music submitted to Apollo.

Editing or making minor alterations to a prohibited AI-generated composition does not make that composition eligible for Apollo.

2. Permitted Prompt-Generated Instrument Sounds

Prompt-generated individual musical instrument sounds are permitted on Apollo.

Artists and producers may use AI or prompt-based tools to generate individual sounds for use as raw material within a human-created composition.

Permitted examples include:

• Synthesizer sounds.
• Guitar tones or individual guitar sounds.
• Piano and keyboard sounds.
• Drum and percussion sounds.
• Bass sounds.
• Orchestral instrument sounds.
• Individual notes, hits, textures, pads, and sound effects.

These sounds may be sampled, programmed, sequenced, chopped, processed, layered, or otherwise incorporated into music created and arranged by a human artist or producer.

The distinction is sound generation versus composition generation.

AI may generate an individual sound that the human artist uses as an instrument or sample. AI may not generate the substantially completed melody, arrangement, beat, instrumental, song, or composition.

3. Limited Hip-Hop Loop Exception

Apollo recognizes sampling, chopping, flipping, and resampling as established elements of hip-hop production.

AI-generated loops may be used as source material in hip-hop beats when they are chopped or substantially transformed through meaningful human production.

This may include:

• Chopping or slicing.
• Rearranging.
• Pitching.
• Reversing.
• Resampling.
• Filtering.
• Layering.
• Other substantial creative manipulation.

An AI-generated loop cannot simply be used as a substantially completed instrumental or composition. The human producer must exercise meaningful creative control over the finished beat.

4. AI Mixing and Mastering Are Prohibited

Apollo requires the mixing and mastering process for music submitted to the platform to remain human-directed.

AI-generated or AI-automated mixing and mastering are not permitted.

This includes automated AI systems that make substantive mixing or mastering decisions on behalf of the artist, producer, mixing engineer, or mastering engineer.

The permitted use of prompt-generated instrument sounds and chopped AI-generated hip-hop loops does not create an exception for AI mixing or mastering.

5. Enforcement and Account Termination

Apollo maintains a zero-tolerance enforcement policy for knowingly uploading prohibited AI-generated or AI-processed music.

If Apollo determines that an account has uploaded, distributed, or attempted to monetize material prohibited by this policy, Apollo may:

1. Immediately remove the affected music.
2. Permanently terminate the user’s Apollo account and access to Apollo services.
3. Remove or restrict additional content associated with the account while an investigation is conducted.
4. Withhold, reverse, or adjust payments where contractually and legally permitted.
5. Pursue applicable contractual fees, financial penalties, damages, reimbursement, or other remedies where expressly authorized by Apollo’s Terms of Service and applicable law.

Apollo is not required to provide a warning before enforcement. A confirmed intentional violation may result in immediate permanent termination from the service.

6. Financial Penalties and Liability

Users are responsible for ensuring that every recording submitted to Apollo complies with this policy.

Where expressly established by Apollo’s Terms of Service and permitted by applicable law, violations may result in contractual financial penalties, fees, damages, chargebacks, reimbursement obligations, or other financial liability.

Any monetary penalty or assessment will be imposed only where Apollo has an appropriate contractual or legal basis to do so.

7. Concealment and Misrepresentation

Users may not intentionally conceal prohibited AI use, falsely represent how a recording was created, or attempt to circumvent Apollo’s review or enforcement procedures.

Knowingly labeling prohibited AI-generated material as human-created, falsifying information regarding a recording’s production, or attempting to disguise prohibited AI use may independently constitute grounds for permanent account termination.

8. Acceptance

By uploading, submitting, distributing, or publishing music through Apollo, users acknowledge and agree to this policy.

Users understand that violations may result in immediate content removal, permanent termination from Apollo, and, where contractually and legally authorized, financial penalties or other liability.