Australia has banned wholly AI-generated songs from its official music charts, with a controversial cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” set to become one of the first casualties of the new rules. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which runs Australia’s official charts, has ruled that recordings must be “substantially human made” to qualify. The new rules will first be used for the Aria chart published on Friday.
However, tracks that use “generative AI in a supporting role” and are “substantially human made” will be allowed. Aria will also have the power to remove recordings from its charts if they are later found to be ineligible, including retrospectively, and can adjust chart positions or withdraw accreditations. If an ineligible recording has reached No 1, the organisation can revoke the Aria No 1 Award or ask for it to be returned.
Artists and their representatives can challenge an exclusion and submit evidence that their recording should remain eligible. The timing is significant for Brisbane DJ and producer Josh Fawaz, whose version of “Like a Prayer” became the most-played song on Australian radio in July and is currently No 1 on Aria’s Australian Dance Singles chart. Fawaz’s cover, which spent 16 weeks on the Top 20 Australian Singles chart and is currently at No 4, has since become the subject of dispute as it continued to climb the charts.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Music producer Mitch Thomas, who performs as Needs No Sleep, alleged on his social media that Fawaz’s music was “generated entirely with AI” and said it sounded like music produced using the generative AI platform Suno.
Fawaz dismissed Thomas’s criticism, telling him to “stop having a little sook” – Australian slang for whinging – and said he used AI “as a tool”. The track’s Spotify credits were subsequently updated to acknowledge that AI had been used for its vocals and drums and has since amassed more than 48 million Spotify streams. While Aria has not yet confirmed that Fawaz’s track will be removed, a spokesperson from the organisation told the Australia Broadcasting Corps that music featuring AI-generated lead vocals or key instrumental parts would likely be excluded under the new rules, meaning the “Like a Prayer” cover could be ineligible.
Aria chief executive Annabelle Herd said the rules would allow artists to use AI while keeping human creativity at the heart of the charts. She added that a chart rewarding “unlicensed AI output” would undermine the purpose of the charts, which are intended to measure the music Australians are actually consuming. The change follows a similar move in Sweden, where an AI-generated song was kept off the country’s official chart earlier this year despite becoming a streaming hit.
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