Australian music trade group bans AI-generated music from official charts

The Australian Recording Industry Association, which represents the country’s music industry, will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official weekly charts of popular songs.

The move comes after a variation of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums, spent 16 weeks on the Australian top 20 and peaked at No. 2 in May.

Starting Monday, tracks will remain eligible only if humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and primary instruments, among other requirements, the music association stated.

AI-generated music will be ineligible for the ARIA awards, and eligible tracks must be produced using legal AI services after unauthorized AI-trained music appeared on streaming platforms.

Annabelle Herd, CEO of ARIA, said in a statement that the changes are meant to “remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry” while keeping the charts a genuine measure of what Australians listen to.

The rules align with July guidelines from the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which require charted tracks to be “substantially human made.”

Sydney Conservatorium of Music lecturer Alexis Weaver called the debate over AI in music “exceptionally fraught” but praised the ARIA move as a step that prioritizes human creativity.