MELBOURNE, Aug 25: Australia’s recorded music industry will exclude songs created entirely by artificial intelligence from its official music charts, as concerns grow over the impact of generative AI on artists and human creativity.
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) said fully AI-generated tracks will be barred from its charts from next Monday, while music created with limited AI assistance will remain eligible under certain conditions.
Under the new rules, eligible tracks must have humans involved in writing the song and performing the lead vocals and primary instruments, among other requirements.
The decision follows controversy surrounding an AI-generated version of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums. The track has spent 16 weeks in Australia’s top 20 and reached No. 2 on ARIA’s Australian singles chart in May. It was ranked fourth on Tuesday.
Fully AI-generated music will also be ineligible for the prestigious ARIA Awards.
ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said the changes were aimed at preserving the human element of music while recognising that AI technology was developing rapidly.
“The 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,” Herd said.
ARIA also said eligible music must be created using legally authorised AI services. The industry has raised concerns that some AI tools have been trained on artists’ music without permission.
Australia’s move follows new principles issued in July by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the global recording industry. The guidelines state that music entering official charts should be “substantially human made”.
Alexis Weaver, a composer and lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, described the debate over AI-generated music as highly contentious but welcomed ARIA’s decision as a step towards prioritising human creativity.
She said AI tools could still have a role in music production as long as artists remained in control of the main creative decisions.
