ARIA is tightening the rules around artificial intelligence in music, banning fully AI-generated recordings from its charts.
The Charts Code of Practice has been updated to distinguish between music created entirely by generative AI and recordings where the technology plays a supporting role. Under the new rules, AI-assisted music can still chart, provided the technology used is authorised and lawful.
For a recording involving generative AI to qualify, ARIA says it must be “substantially human made”, comply with relevant laws including copyright and related rights, and raise no concerns around stream or chart manipulation.
The changes will take effect from the ARIA Chart dated Monday, August 31st, which will be published on Friday, August 28th. ARIA will use definitions introduced under a global music industry labelling standard in July to determine the difference between AI-generated and AI-assisted recordings.
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said the rules were designed to recognise the growing role AI tools can play in artists’ creative processes without allowing entirely machine-generated music to compete on the same terms.
“These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is – to say the least – a rapidly developing space. Artists already use AI tools in their work, the Charts can and should evolve to keep room for that, but music generated wholesale by services built on artists’ recordings is a different matter,” she explained.
“The ARIA Charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes, but a chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent. We have worked closely with IFPI and a number of international industry bodies to understand how to best implement these changes in a way that is both clear and future-facing.
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“This gives everyone who releases music in Australia a clear rule to work to. We call on all parties who have a role in deciding the music played and promoted to Australian audiences, particularly radio, to support human artistry and implement similar changes across their own codes.”
ARIA has also outlined what can happen if a recording is found to breach the rules. The industry body can refuse to accept a release for its chart survey, remove it from the charts – including retrospectively, adjust chart positions, and withdraw accreditations.
In more extreme cases, ARIA can revoke or request the return of an ARIA No. 1 Award. Any recording ruled ineligible for the charts will also be unable to compete for an ARIA Award.
Artists and their representatives will have an avenue to challenge those decisions, with ARIA updating its disputes process to allow them to provide evidence supporting a recording’s eligibility.
The move comes weeks after Australian DJ and producer Josh Fawaz faced mounting criticism over his cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, which spent four weeks at the top of Australia’s national radio airplay chart and amassed more than 38 million Spotify streams.
Following an ABC investigation into the song, its Spotify credits were updated to acknowledge the use of AI for both its vocals and drums.
Fawaz had previously been less forthcoming about the exact role AI played in his work, until he posted a “behind the scenes” video where he showed his use of Suno, a generative AI platform capable of creating vocals, instrumentation and entire songs.
Existing provisions requiring chart data suppliers to operate lawfully and allowing ARIA to exclude sales or streams that cannot be verified have also been strengthened. ARIA said it will continue reviewing the Code as generative AI technology and the policy surrounding it evolve.
From Rolling Stone AU/NZ
