Music Made by AI to be Banned from Aussie Charts
The Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 25 Aug 2026
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 25 Aug 2026, 08:01 am
Description
Brisbane producer Josh Fawaz’s synthetic rework of ‘Like a Prayer’ is set to disappear from the charts under the change made by the ARIA.
Summary
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has established new regulatory boundaries by banning purely AI-generated music from national pop charts. This policy intervention addresses the intersection of generative AI and intellectual property, requiring songs to be 'substantially human-made' and compliant with copyright laws to remain eligible. While primarily a cultural and economic measure, it represents an early sectoral governance framework in Australia for managing the output of frontier generative models. The decision highlights the growing need for technical verification methods to distinguish between human and synthetic contributions in professional industries.
Body
Life & LuxuryArts & CultureNew musicPrint articleMichael BaileyArts & Culture editorUpdated Aug 25, 2026 – 8.24am, first published at 8.00amMusic generated wholly by artificial intelligence will be banned from Australia’s pop charts from Friday, while songs assisted by AI will be subject to strict eligibility criteria.The move by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) will result in the removal of tracks such as Josh Fawaz’s AI-generated rework of Madonna’s Like a Prayer from the charts, but the association will retain tracks it determines are “substantially human-made” and whose AI elements have not broken copyright laws.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleRead MoreNew musicPerforming artsAIFetching latest articles