Cinema VinesAustralia’s music charts will no longer feature tracks that are entirely produced by artificial intelligence, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced on Tuesday. The decision comes after a stir over Queensland DJ Josh Fawaz’s rendition of Madonna’s 1989 classic “Like a Prayer,” which climbed to No. 4 on two ARIA listings and became the most‑played song on Australian radio in July. Producers had raised concerns that Fawaz’s version had been created with generative AI, a claim the DJ denied, saying the AI was merely a tool and that the track was largely human‑made.
Under the new rule, recordings that rely solely on generative AI will be excluded from the ARIA Charts. However, songs that incorporate AI in a supporting capacity—such as for sound design or background elements—will still qualify, provided they are “substantially human made” and do not raise issues related to streaming or chart manipulation. ARIA will adopt definitions from a global labelling standard introduced in July to differentiate fully AI‑generated tracks from those that are AI‑assisted.
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd explained that the charts must remain a transparent reflection of the music Australians actually consume. “A chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent,” she said. The move follows a broader push by major record labels worldwide to secure new licensing arrangements as AI‑generated music gains traction and listeners increasingly struggle to tell it apart from human‑composed songs.
The ARIA Charts, which are released every Friday on Apple Music and Spotify, compile the most popular songs and albums in Australia. With this policy change, any fully AI‑made track will no longer appear in those rankings, while those that blend human artistry with AI tools will continue to compete for chart positions.
