Australia bans AI-generated music from official charts…

The Australian music industry has implemented a ban on AI-generated songs from its official charts to preserve the integrity of human-made music. This policy change follows significant industry debate regarding the role of generative artificial intelligence in creative works.

What happened

The move to restrict AI content was triggered by the success of a deepfake version of Madonna’s hit "Like a Prayer," which featured AI-generated vocals and drums. The track gained substantial popularity, topping official charts for at least 16 weeks and reaching the number two position on the Australian Record Industry Association’s (ARIA) top 20 Australian singles chart in May. Following this incident, ARIA announced that only music where humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocals and primary instruments will be eligible for chart placement. Starting next Monday, any song found to be created by AI tools will be excluded from the charts and disqualified from prestigious ARIA awards. ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd stated that the charts must remain a transparent measurement of music consumption and that rewarding unlicensed AI output would undermine the industry. The new code, which allows for some AI-assisted music, aligns with principles released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry to prevent stream and chart manipulation.