Australia's music industry bans AI-generated tracks from official charts

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists’ livelihoods, a representative said on Tuesday.

The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI’s place in music. It peaked at number two on the Australian Record Industry Association’s top 20 Australian singles chart in May and remained in fourth place on Tuesday.

Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from Monday next week, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said.

Tracks can be eligible only if “humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments,” among other requirements, the statement said.

AI-generated music would also be ineligible for the Australian industry’s prestigious ARIA awards.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said: “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.”

“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,” Herd added.

Eligible music must also be produced using legal AI services. Music was appearing on streaming services that had apparently been developed with AI tools trained on artists’ music without authorization.

The Australian rules are in step with new principles released in July by the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The federation represents the recording industry worldwide.

The international guidelines state that to qualify for official music charts, a track must be “substantially human made.”

Sydney Conservatorium of Music composer and lecturer Alexis Weaver told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the debate around AI in music was “exceptionally fraught and very emotional for a lot of musicians and so everyone will have a different opinion.”

Weaver applauded ARIA’s move as a “wonderful step forward” that sent a message ARIA wanted to “prioritize and value human creativity.”

“It can be quite hard to avoid AI tools in the current landscape,” Weaver said. “There is a way to use it while you’re still steering the ship and making the main creative choices.”

FILE - Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)

Motor neurone disease is not likely to stop Jai Arrow trying to bring up a career milestone in Australia's National Rugby League.

The NRL is planning an exception to its rules to allow the veteran forward a chance to be on the field for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in his 99th and 100th rugby league games for the club, if only for a few moments.

Arrow, 31, was diagnosed in May with motor neurone disease, which MND Australia describes as an umbrella term for a group of progressive neurological conditions where the motor neurones degenerate. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common form, and ALS is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease.

As part of an agreement with the Rabbitohs, the NRL granted South Sydney special dispensation to include Arrow as an extra player on Tuesday’s official team list and an extra substitution in their rotation for the game against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday. A similar dispensation will be allowed for South Sydney's last regular season game against Sydney Roosters.

According to the NRL, Arrow will get dressed in South Sydney playing kit for the two NRL game days in the Rabbitohs dressing room, lead the Rabbitohs team onto the field of play, be the team’s first substitution of the match within the first few seconds after the opening whistle without taking part in any play during the game, and be able to sit on the interchange bench for the remainder of the game in his playing kit.

It will bring Arrow’s tally to 180 career games in the NRL, and 100 for the Rabbitohs, on top of his representative games for Queensland in the annual State of Origin series.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said it was a chance for the sport to be a “conduit to bring out the best of humanity.”

“This thoughtful gesture by the South Sydney Rabbitohs shows the true heart of our game,” V’landys said. “Jai has inspired millions of people around the world with the courage and strength he has shown in his fight with MND. He is not only a great player, but an extraordinary person.

“Reaching 100 games for the Rabbitohs is a special achievement, one that Jai, his family and everyone who has supported him should be incredibly proud of. The entire rugby league community stands with Jai and is honored to celebrate this remarkable milestone with him.”

Rugby league star Rob Burrow and Scottish rugby union player Doddie Weir are high-profile players who have died from the illness in recent years.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Jai Arrow of the Rabbitohs is on the field during the National Rugby League game against the Sea Eagles in Sydney, June 22, 2024. (James Gourley/AAP Image via AP)