AI:OK Music Certification

AI:OK does not audit training data at file level, does not warrant that any output of a certified system is free of infringement, does not give legal advice, does not monitor certified entities between reviews, and is not a regulator or a statutory conformity assessment body. Certification is a voluntary signal about a vendor’s practices and evidence at a point in time. It does not certify individual recordings or settle who owns rights in them.

Commercial use means use in the course of a business activity, whether or not the end user pays. A free tool that supports the provider’s business is in commercial use.

AI:OK certifies four scopes. Every certificate states its scope in plain words, and the public registry shows it.

• Company: every generative or assistive AI system the company makes available.

• Product or service: one named product or service, including any third-party models inside it.

• Individual model: one named model at a named version. You must state publicly which of your models are and are not certified.

• Catalogue: a defined body of works licensed for AI training or output. It does not certify any AI system trained on the catalogue.

The Applicant Guide explains how to choose your scope. You can extend scope at renewal or apply separately to add a product or model. Reducing scope must be disclosed to AI:OK.

The Core submission fee depending on organisation size. It pays for the assessment, is not refundable, and is charged whether or not certification is granted. An annual certification fee applies only if certification is granted. It covers the certificate, registry entry, trustmark licence, member portal access, which includes the optional AI:OK Literacy Programme, and the Extended Framework review for twelve months. AI:OK confirms the annual fee in writing before it charges it. Fees exclude VAT. Read the full Terms of Service.

If certification is granted, you receive a certificate with its own number, a public registry entry, a licence to display the AI:OK trustmark within the certified scope, member portal access with your certificate, trustmark assets and change reporting, the optional AI:OK Literacy Programme at no extra charge, and written reasons for every outcome.

Core review rests on the Dataset and Source Register. It lists every dataset, source and training input, and refers to the actual assets used, not metadata indexes or catalogues. Rights to a dataset list are separate from rights to the content within it, and you must address both.

Typical evidence includes source registers, licence agreements, data supply agreements, provider terms, provenance records and written confirmations from rights holders or licensors. You can mark commercially sensitive material [Confidential]. It is handled under the Confidentiality Protocol.

Certification cannot proceed if datasets used for training cannot be identified, if explicit rights for commercial training or deployment are absent or clearly not held, if restricted or research-only data has been used commercially without rights, or if material misrepresentation is identified. The Applicant Guide lists the evidence to prepare for each section of each form.

An assessor reads your submission and the evidence behind it. They may ask questions or request further documents. They may contact licensors and suppliers named in your Register to confirm your evidence, and will tell you first. Where a case raises a new rights question, a second assessor or a panel reviews it. Assessors with a material relationship to an applicant do not review that applicant. Quick Check is reviewed within five working days. Core review time depends on the complexity of your dataset and rights position.

Certification lasts twelve months. You complete an annual review in every case, and you tell AI:OK promptly about material changes to training data, model structure, rights arrangements, ownership or control, third-party model dependencies or deployment markets. A material change to training data, model architecture or the rights basis will normally require re-certification. Grounds for suspension and revocation are in the Protocols.

Only an entity with a current certificate may say it is certified by AI:OK, and only for the scope on the certificate. Do not describe a company, product or model as “AI:OK compliant”, “AI:OK approved” or “meeting the AI:OK standard” unless you hold a current certificate that covers it. A Quick Check clearance, a place on the waiting list and a submitted application are not certification.

A certificate is a starting point for your own checks.

• Registry. Find the entity on the public registry. It shows the name, certificate number, status, scope, issue date and review date.

• Scope. Check what is covered and what is not.

• Version. Check that the model and standard version match the one you use.

• Dates. Certification lasts twelve months. After that the registry shows Expired.

• Status. Certified, Conditional, Under Review, Suspended, Revoked or Expired.

• What was not assessed. A certificate does not tell you that an output is free of infringement, that a third-party model’s own training was lawful, how a system handles imitation of an artist’s voice or likeness, or what has happened since the last review.

If something looks wrong, use File evidence.

The AI:OK Literacy Programme is a self-paced course for teams, with 36 short video lessons in four modules and 108 checkpoint questions. EU AI Act Article 4 requires providers and deployers of AI systems to take measures to support the AI literacy of their staff. The programme can be one of those measures. It is optional, it is included with certification through the member portal at no extra charge, and completing it does not guarantee certification or meet any legal duty by itself.

Thirty-six lessons across four areas - Systems, Tools, Governance, Judgement - ending in a certificate of completion for each learner.