Australia's ARIA Bars 100% AI-Generated Music From Charts and Awards

3 articles · Updated · PBS NewsHour · Aug 25

Next Monday, ARIA will exclude wholly AI-generated tracks from its official charts and make them ineligible for the industry's awards, tightening rules as generative music spreads on streaming platforms.
A 16-week top-20 run by an AI-made variation of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" sharpened the debate; the track peaked at No. 2 in May and was still No. 4 on Tuesday.
Under the new standard, songs qualify only if humans wrote them and performed the lead vocal and primary instruments, while AI-assisted releases can still compete if legal AI services were used.
ARIA said the change is meant to protect artists' livelihoods and prevent unlicensed AI output from undermining charts that are supposed to reflect recorded music consumption.
The policy tracks July guidance from the IFPI, whose global principles say chart-eligible music must be "substantially human made."