SYDNEY: Australia’s leading music charts will ban fully AI-generated songs under new rules designed to protect human creativity as artificial intelligence plays an increasingly prominent role in the global music industry.
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) said on Tuesday that music must be “substantially human-made ” to qualify for its charts under guidelines taking effect from Friday.
“Wholly AI-generated tracks will not be eligible for the ARIA Charts,” the industry body said.
AI Songs Face New Chart Restrictions
The rules will exclude songs where artificial intelligence generates the entirety or primary portion of the creative elements.
However, musicians will still be allowed to use generative AI as a supporting tool without automatically losing chart eligibility. This means AI-assisted recordings can continue to compete provided human creativity remains central to the work.
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The changes come amid mounting concern within the music industry over the rapid growth of AI-generated material on streaming platforms.
In July, a cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” climbed to the top of Australian charts before attracting scrutiny after it emerged that AI-generated vocals and drums had been used in the recording.
Music Industry Responds to AI Boom
Streaming services are also considering ways to make AI content more transparent. Spotify has said it plans to introduce an “AI Persona” badge to identify content producers that are generated by artificial intelligence rather than representing real people.
More than one-third of new uploads to Apple Music are entirely AI-created, a platform executive told Billboard this year, highlighting the scale at which the technology is entering the music market.
Several major music industry organisations have also proposed labelling systems for generative AI content.
ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said the new rules were intended to preserve the human element of music while allowing the charts to adapt to technological change.
“These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry,” Herd said.
She added that allowing unlicensed AI output to receive chart recognition could undermine the foundations of the recorded music industry that ARIA represents.
