In a recent development, a rendition of Madonna’s popular track “Like a Prayer” that gained significant airplay on Australian radio last month faces exclusion from official charts due to new regulations introduced by the Australian music industry.
The Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA), responsible for managing the nation’s official music charts, declared that songs entirely created by artificial intelligence will no longer be permitted. ARIA’s spokesperson, Andrew Knowles, stated that recordings must be predominantly human-generated to be considered for the ARIA charts.
Tracks heavily reliant on generative AI for creating artistic components, such as lead vocals or instruments, will not meet the eligibility criteria. However, recordings where human performance takes precedence, with AI used minimally, will still qualify. ARIA emphasized that any concerns about manipulating streams or charts will lead to the removal of such recordings, ensuring compliance with relevant copyright laws.
ARIA’s CEO, Annabelle Herd, emphasized the importance of preserving the human aspect of music creation in a rapidly evolving environment. The organization aims to maintain transparency in charting music consumption and uphold the integrity of recorded music representation by excluding AI-generated tracks from esteemed accolades like the ARIA Awards.
The decision follows the popularity of Josh Fawaz’s rendition of “Like a Prayer,” incorporating AI-generated vocals and drums, on the ARIA’s Top 20 Australian Singles chart for 16 weeks. Despite reaching the second position in May and retaining the fourth spot recently, the track has sparked contentious discussions regarding generative AI’s usage in music production.
Notably, music producer Mitch Thomas criticized Fawaz online, accusing him of solely relying on AI for music creation and likening his style to the gen AI platform Suno. Fawaz defended his approach, clarifying that AI serves as a tool in his music production process.
The enforcement of the new regulations will commence next Monday, prohibiting wholly AI-generated tracks from the ARIA charts. However, compositions involving AI assistance to a certain extent will remain eligible, as confirmed by ARIA. Fawaz’s rendition of “Like a Prayer” was deemed ineligible based on the provided information, according to ARIA’s verification to CBC News.
