r/ableton•
JONXLR8

Using a 'No AI used in any part of this production' statement when Ableton's stem separator has been used

[Question]

I suspect this is quite a contentious subject and it's not my intention to stir the pot and open a debate on the use of AI in music production, but it got me thinking today when I saw an artist had used the above statement on their Bandcamp release.

I've released tracks which have included separated vocals and sounds from sampled material, using the built in stem separation tool, which as I understand it uses an AI algorithm to achieve the intended result. On this basis, would it be misleading or dishonest of me to use the statement above?

Personally speaking, I'm happier not using AI to generate audio content, arrangement, sound design etc and think it's reasonable if outlets such as Bandcamp were to insist on artists highlighting whether AI has been used in a production or not. However, I also feel that stem separation is more like an assistive restoration / editing / filtering tool compared with what I think of as 'AI generated' music. I guess it comes down to where the lines are drawn.

Perhaps I would be better if I used a more transparent statement such as:
Written, arranged and produced by a human - No AI-generated music or vocals

...or more explicitly where appropriate:
Human-made music. AI-assisted stem separation was used only to isolate sampled vocal material

What's your take on this?

Posted Jun 23, 2026, 2:18 PM UTC

052
Loading comments…