Country’s Charts Boot AI Hits To Protect Real Artists

Official music charts Down Under just cracked down on artificial intelligence-generated music.

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) established the new rules in response to Australian DJ Josh Fawaz’s cover of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” which was created using generative AI, BBC reported. The cover song reached number two on Australia’s overall singles chart, #1 on ARIA’s Dance Singles chart and more than 48 million Spotify streams before the Australian ban.

The association’s rules state that a song will not be featured in ARIA Charts if it is “not substantially human created, including where artificial intelligence is used to generate the entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements of the Title or Product,” ARIA said in its updated Code.

“These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is — to say the least — a rapidly developing space,” ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said, according to ARIA’s Tuesday announcement. “A chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent.”