Australia’s music charts just got a new rule: songs that are mostly or entirely made by AI are no longer eligible for climbing the rankings. This change, announced by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), aims to keep the charts a showcase for “substantially human‑made” music.
The ban follows a stir over a DJ remix of Madonna’s Like A Prayer that topped the ARIA dance singles chart and peaked at number 2 overall. DJ Josh Fawaz had his track streamed over 48 million times on Spotify, but after backlash he added AI credits to the mix.
ARIA says the crowded music market can’t thrive if AI‑generated output takes the spotlight. While they’ll still allow AI tools for mastering, auto‑tune and drum machines, the main song structure and lead performance must come from humans. Artists must list any AI assistance when submitting tracks, and ARIA can move songs down if they later turn out to be largely AI‑driven.
Other countries are following suit: Sweden banned a purely AI song from its charts, and the IFPI plans guidelines for Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. ARIA’s chief, Annabelle Herd, promised that new rules would keep the human element alive, and that unpaid AI use would no longer be considered a theft of creativity.
