AI Music barred from Australian charts

Australia's music industry has moved to keep wholly AI-generated recordings off its national charts, following controversy over an Australian DJ's cover of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' that climbed to the top of local radio play charts.

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), the country's peak music industry body, said wholly AI-generated tracks would no longer be eligible for the ARIA Charts, while recordings using generative AI in a supporting role would continue to qualify.

Under the new rules, a recording developed with generative AI will be eligible only if it is considered "substantially human made" and raises no concerns about streaming practices or manipulation of chart results, ARIA said.

The association said it would distinguish between AI-generated and AI-assisted recordings by applying definitions contained in a labelling standard announced by the global music community in July.

The move comes as major record labels seek new licensing arrangements to protect their extensive music catalogues as AI-generated music becomes increasingly popular and listeners face growing difficulty distinguishing between human-created and machine-generated recordings.

"ARIA charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes, but a chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent," ARIA Chief Executive Annabelle Herd said.

The policy follows controversy surrounding Queensland-based DJ Josh Fawaz's cover of Madonna's 1989 hit 'Like a Prayer'. The recording became the most-played song on Australian radio and reached No 4 on two ARIA charts in July.

Some music producers alleged that generative AI had been used in creating the recording and criticised Fawaz for not initially disclosing its use. Fawaz responded to a music producer's criticism on Instagram in June, saying he had used AI "as a tool" but that it was "not that deep".