Australia bans fully AI-generated songs from official music charts
Under the new rules, fully AI-generated songs will no longer be eligible for the ARIA charts from next Monday (31 August). However, music created with the help of AI will still qualify if it meets certain conditions.
Australia's recorded music industry will ban songs made entirely by artificial intelligence from its official music charts, as the rapid growth of generative AI raises concerns about the future of artists and human creativity.
The move follows controversy over an AI-created version of Madonna's hit song "Like a Prayer." The track, produced by an Australian musician using AI-generated vocals and drums, has spent 16 weeks in Australia's top 20.
The song reached No. 2 on the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) top 20 Australian singles chart in May and is still at No. 4 today (25 August).
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Under the new rules, fully AI-generated songs will no longer be eligible for the ARIA charts from next Monday (31 August). However, music created with the help of AI will still qualify if it meets certain conditions.
ARIA said songs must be written by humans and have human performers providing the lead vocals and main instruments, among other requirements.
Fully AI-generated music will also be excluded from the prestigious ARIA Awards.
ARIA Chief Executive Annabelle Herd said the changes were aimed at protecting the human side of music as AI technology develops rapidly.
"The ARIA Charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes," Herd said. However, she added that rewarding unlicensed AI-generated music would undermine the purpose of the recorded music industry.
ARIA also said eligible music must be made using AI services that comply with copyright laws. The industry has raised concerns that some AI tools used to create music may have been trained on artists' work without permission.
The Australian rules follow new principles issued in July by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents recording companies worldwide.
Under those guidelines, songs entering official music charts must be "substantially human made."
Alexis Weaver, a composer and lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, said the debate over AI-generated music was highly emotional and divisive among musicians.
She welcomed ARIA's decision, saying it was an important step toward recognising and supporting human creativity.
Weaver said musicians could still use AI tools as long as they remained in control of the main creative decisions."There is a way to use it while you're still steering the ship and making the main creative choices," she said.
