By Julian Osamoto
Australia is set to exclude fully AI-generated songs from its official music charts by Friday, as the country’s music industry moves to protect human creativity.
This is contained in its new guidelines where Australian Recording Industry Association, ARIA, says songs must be substantially created by humans to qualify for the charts.
Under the new rules, ARIA will reject tracks in which artificial intelligence AI produces all or most of the creative elements. “Artists can still use AI as a supporting tool”.
The decision follows growing concern over the increasing use of AI to produce music and the difficulty of distinguishing human-made work from computer-generated content.
In July, an AI-assisted cover of Madonna’s Like a Prayer reached the top of the Australian charts.
The song came under scrutiny after its creators revealed that they used AI-generated vocals and drums.
ARIA Chief Executive Annabelle Herd, said the changes would help keep the charts focused on music created by human artists.
She also warned that allowing unlicensed AI-generated music to compete on the charts could undermine their credibility.
Meanwhile, streaming platforms are taking steps to identify AI-generated content.
Spotify also plans to introduce an “AI Persona” label for content created by artificial intelligence.
An Apple Music executive told Billboard that more than a third of new uploads to the platform are entirely AI-generated.
Several major music organisations have also proposed a common labelling system for AI-generated content.
The developments have intensified debate within the music industry over copyright, transparency, artist earnings and the growing role of artificial intelligence in music production.
