Australia’s music industry bans AI songs from charts

Key Points:

• Australia's recorded music industry will ban tracks entirely generated by artificial intelligence from official charts starting next Monday, aiming to protect artists' livelihoods amid rising use of generative AI technologies.
• A popular AI-generated variation of Madonna’s "Like a Prayer" has spent 16 weeks in Australia’s top 20 singles chart, highlighting the growing presence and controversy of AI in music.
• The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) will allow AI-assisted music only if humans wrote the song and performed lead vocals and primary instruments, with AI-generated tracks also excluded from ARIA awards.
• ARIA emphasizes that eligible music must be produced using legal AI services, addressing concerns over unauthorized use of artists' work in AI training.
• The new Australian rules align with international guidelines from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which require music to be "substantially human made" to qualify for official charts.