Australia’s charts draw a line against fully AI-made songs

Australia’s charts draw a line against fully AI-made songs
Australia’s music charts are drawing a new boundary in the generative-AI era: machines can assist, but they cannot claim the prize alone. The change comes as the industry weighs technological experimentation against artists’ livelihoods and the meaning of authorship.

The pressure point arrived in July, when an AI-produced song reached No. 4 on two separate Australian charts. In response, the Australian Recording Industry Association updated its Code of Practice, requiring tracks made with generative tools to be “substantially human made.”

The revised rule does not ban AI from the recording process outright. Instead, it excludes music that is wholly generated by AI from official chart eligibility — a distinction designed to preserve room for human artists using new tools while blocking fully synthetic acts from competing on the same scoreboard.

Industry advocates frame the move as a safeguard at a time when generative technology is increasingly seen as a threat to performers’ and songwriters’ income. Australia’s recorded-music sector will bar wholly AI-generated tracks from official charts as those technologies put artists’ livelihoods at risk, a representative said.

Yet the policy also carries an obvious enforcement weakness. ARIA acknowledges that it can identify AI use only if “you tell us,” leaving compliance dependent in large part on disclosure. Australia has set a clear standard for chart eligibility; proving who crossed the line may be harder.

Continue reading https://foxvector.com/stories/01a03953-a400-0d83-7202-0f5d9fb4a879