Your human-made track was flagged as AI: an appeal kit, distributor by distributor

You wrote it, played it and mixed it, and your distributor says it sounds like AI. That now happens often enough to need a routine. Detectors are being run at scale, and even the one platform that publishes an error rate admits some human tracks get caught.

This guide is the routine: what each of the three biggest self-serve distributors says in its own help pages, the evidence to gather before you reply, and a message you can adapt. It is not legal advice, and everything below is as we read those pages on 24 Oct 2026. For how the detectors themselves work, and the court filing that gave the first look inside DistroKid's, read how distributors decide your song is "AI".

Why this happens to human music

Detectors produce a score, not a verdict. Deezer, the one service that publishes figures for its own system, said in July that it may wrongly flag fewer than 1 in 10,000 human-made tracks. That is its own figure, not an independent test. Spotify's October update says AI detection "has limitations, and it will only get harder as generative AI evolves."

None of the three distributors below says which detector it uses, what score triggers action, or how to appeal a detection result specifically. So every step here works through the general support route each one does publish.

Step 1: work out what was actually flagged

Before you argue, find out what you are arguing against. A "flag" can mean three different things:

• A rejection before release. The release never went live. This is the easiest to fix.
• A removal after release. The release was live and has been taken down, by the distributor or by a store.
• A publishing hold. The recording is fine, but the composition won't be registered or collected on. This is TuneCore Publishing's stated route (below).

Also check whether the decision came from the distributor or a store. DistroKid's AI tools page notes that streaming services "may reject or remove releases that don't meet their guidelines", so the distributor may be passing on someone else's decision.

Step 2: build the evidence pack

Do this before you send anything. One clear message with proof beats five angry ones.

• The session. Your DAW project, with its file dates. A screenshot of the arrangement view showing your own recorded takes is the single strongest thing you can send.
• Raw recordings. Unprocessed vocal and instrument takes, including the bad ones. Generators don't leave behind 14 comped takes of a chorus.
• Dated drafts. Early bounces, voice memos of the idea, lyric drafts with timestamps.
• Licences. Receipts for sample packs, loops and plug-ins. CD Baby's rights page already says you'll need to supply documentation for samples, so have it ready.
• A tool list. Every tool that touched the track, including AI-assisted ones such as pitch correction, mastering or stem separation, and what each did.
• Performance video, if you have any, of you playing or singing the part.

Keep the pack in one shared folder you can link to, and don't hand over full project files unless asked. Screenshots and a few stems usually make the point.

Step 3: go distributor by distributor

DistroKid

DistroKid's rejection guide says details on the rejection will be in the email you received, and if you think the release was rejected in error, "just reply to that email". It also says that for most rejections you'll likely need to delete and re-upload. Don't do that yet with a wrong AI flag: the identical audio will just be judged again.

Check your declaration first. DistroKid's upload form asks whether AI generated the lyrics, the music, all of the audio or part of it, and you can update credits after upload from the album page. Its explainer says you don't need AI credits for pitch correction, AI-assisted mixing or mastering, or AI-assisted workflows. If that describes your use, say so in your reply and quote the page.

TuneCore

TuneCore's test is about the tool, not the amount. Its GenAI framework says it only distributes music made with GenAI models trained on fully licensed datasets, and that this applies "if GenAI is used at any point in the creation of a track". So list every AI-assisted tool you used and, for each, what its maker says about training data.

On the songwriting side, TuneCore Publishing says it runs AI detection across the catalogue it administers and that songs flagged as likely AI-generated "may not be processed". It does not describe an appeal, so ask support in writing what review is available and what evidence they accept. Lyric drafts and a dated topline voice memo matter most here, because the question is who wrote the song.

Be careful with takedowns. TuneCore says it can't reverse a takedown, as stores treat it as permanent. A re-release needs a new UPC, though you can reuse the ISRCs if the audio and track details are exactly the same. Never request a takedown yourself to "reset" a flag.

CD Baby

CD Baby's rights page says flatly that it can't distribute AI-generated content. Its parent's content policy, which also covers FUGA, is narrower: it prohibits content made "wholly or primarily" by AI models trained on recordings without a licence, and AI content that mimics popular artists. If your track is human-made with assistive tools, the narrower wording is the one to cite.

CD Baby's contact page says the Help Center form and chat both start with an AI support agent, which escalates to a human and opens a ticket when needed. Ask for that escalation in your first line, and note that it says social media can't be used for support requests.

Step 4: send one clear message

Adapt this. Keep it short, factual and polite.

Subject: Request for human review – [release title], [UPC/ISRC]

My release was [rejected/removed] on [date], and I believe it was flagged as AI-generated in error. I wrote, performed and produced it myself. Attached: a screenshot of the session with my recorded takes, two raw stems, a dated demo and a list of every tool used. The only AI-assisted tools were [e.g. pitch correction and mastering], which your help page says don't need AI credits.

Please could you tell me (1) which policy was applied, (2) whether the decision was made by you or by a store, and (3) how a human can review it? Please don't take any further action on the release while this is reviewed.

Then keep a log: date sent, ticket number, who replied, what they said.

What makes it worse

• Re-uploading the same file repeatedly. Downtown's policy lists "excessive re-delivery" of the same recordings as prohibited, and the detector will see the same audio.
• Changing your story. If you used a generated element, the "part of the audio" credit exists for it. A disclosure you made is a better position than a detector finding something you didn't declare.
• Going public before you've had a reply. Escalate in writing first, and keep the thread.

What we think

An artist who gets a wrong AI flag is asked to prove a negative, through a support system designed for missing artwork. None of these three distributors publishes an appeal route for a detection decision, a review deadline, or what evidence counts. Deezer has shown that publishing an error rate doesn't break anything.

The fix is small. Any distributor that scores uploads should tell the artist that a detector was involved, name the evidence it will accept, give a human review with a fixed deadline, and hold the release in place, not delete it, while that happens. Until then, the evidence pack is your appeal. Build it while you make the track, not after the email arrives.

Sources

• Handling a Rejected DistroKid Release, DistroKid Help Center
• What Are AI Credits? and How to Fill Out AI Credits, DistroKid Help Center
• Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid?, DistroKid Help Center
• TuneCore's GenAI Music Content Framework, TuneCore Support
• GenAI and TuneCore Publishing, Explained, TuneCore Support
• Can I make my music live in stores again if it has been taken down?, TuneCore Support
• Do I need to own all the rights to the music I'm selling?, Downtown Music Content Policy Rules and How can I contact CD Baby?, CD Baby Support
• AI music has surpassed 50% of new music uploads for the first time, Deezer Newsroom
• One Year In: Putting Human Artistry First on Spotify, Spotify Newsroom, 20 Oct 2026