The Human Authorship Standard

What the Standard means

The Human Authorship Standard certifies that a body of recorded music was created by a human composer and performer, without the use of generative-AI systems to compose or produce the work. Certification is granted on the basis of evidence held on file — the working artefacts a human musician produces and an automated generator does not.

• ✓Human composition. Melodies, harmony and arrangement written by a person, not generated.
• ✓Human performance & production. Played, recorded and mixed in a digital audio workstation.
• ✓No generative AI in composing or producing the music.
• ✓Evidence retained. Editable session files, stems, MIDI and notation kept and available for audit.

How verification works

Certification is not a self-declared sticker. Membership artists submit — and retain — the primary evidence of authorship:

1. Session files. The editable DAW projects (Logic, Ableton, etc.) for each release.
2. Stems & recordings. Separated per-instrument audio and takes.
3. Performance data. MIDI captured from played performances.
4. Notation. Scores and separated instrument parts where the work is written.
5. Datestamped history. Creation and modification dates showing the work evolving over time.

A submitting composer's archive is reviewed against the Standard; where it is met, the catalogue is entered on the Register and may display the mark. A sample evidence dossier is available here.

The certification mark

Certified catalogues may display “Human Authorship — Certified” and the seal above, linking back to this Standard. Dark and light versions are provided.

Register

Certified catalogues are recorded on the Register. The Council does not publish the register by name; certification is confirmed on request.