According to BBC News, songs that are largely or wholly created by AI have been banned from Australia's music charts, with all releases from this week now required to be "substantially human made" to be eligible. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) said the new code would help "promote the human nature of artistry", in a move that follows a controversy around an AI-assisted cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer by Australian DJ Josh Fawaz.
The Like A Prayer controversy
BBC News reported that the cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer by Josh Fawaz recently topped the ARIA dance singles chart and peaked at number 2 on the country's overall chart. The song became a staple of commercial radio station playlists and has been streamed more than 48 million times on Spotify alone. After a backlash, Fawaz later added generative AI credits to the song.
ARIA said Australian artists were competing for attention "in the most crowded market in history" and that it was "not interested in promoting or celebrating the success of AI-generated music that does not contain human artistry", according to the BBC.
The new eligibility rules
Under the new rules, AI assistance can still be used, but humans must have written the song and performed the lead vocal and primary instruments. BBC News reported that AI can still be used for mastering songs and for tools such as drum machines and auto tune. Artists are required to declare AI use when they submit a song for chart consideration.
The updated code, based on a directive from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), also excludes music that raises "stream or chart manipulation concerns", the BBC said. If it later emerges that music was largely AI-generated, ARIA could retrospectively adjust chart positions, and if the piece had topped the charts, it could request that awards given for reaching Number One were returned. Artists and their representatives will be able to challenge their exclusion.
| Provision | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Music must be "substantially human made" |
| Human authorship | Humans must have written the song |
| Lead vocals/instruments | Must be performed by humans |
| Allowed AI use | Mastering, drum machines, auto tune |
| Disclosure | Artists must declare AI use on submission |
| Enforcement | Retrospective chart adjustments; possible return of Number One awards |
| Appeals | Artists can challenge exclusion |
Global AI chart policies
Earlier this year, a song was banned from Sweden's music charts because it was created by AI, BBC News reported. In July, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said AI guidelines would be rolled out in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia for use in official charts in those regions.
Artists react
ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said, according to the BBC:
"These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is, to say the least, a rapidly developing space."
She also said artists already use AI tools in their work and that "the charts can and should evolve to keep room for that, but music generated wholesale by services built on artists' recordings is a different matter". A chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would "undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent", she added.
Among the artists supporting the move are Australian electronic act Peking Duk, the BBC reported. Last month, they shared an AI-assisted version of their 2014 hit High on Instagram, captioned: "When you re-record your own song with AI so Australian radio will play it." Band member Adam Hyde told Channel Nine's Today show that AI-generated music was "removing the human experience from life".
In July this year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised "the strongest possible protection" from AI for Australian creatives. He pledged that writers and musicians would be able to choose if and how their work was used in the training of AI, saying it would be "theft" if creatives lost that control and were not paid for its use, the BBC reported.
The IFPI directive, which underpins the Australian code, is set to be rolled out in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, indicating that the eligibility rules proposed by ARIA could form a template for chart governance in other markets.
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