Australia's recording industry has drawn a clear line between human-made music and artificial intelligence. Any track wholly generated by AI will no longer be eligible for inclusion on the country's music charts, under a new policy announced by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
The rule takes effect this Friday, according to a report by Engadget. Tracks that fail to qualify for the charts will also be ineligible for an ARIA Award, the country's most recognized music honor.
The new Code of Practice does leave room for some uses of generative AI. A song can still be counted on the charts if it "is substantially human made" and "raises no stream or chart manipulation concerns." The distinction, then, is not whether AI was involved at all, but how central it was to creating the final product.
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd explained the reasoning behind the move. "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 said. She also called on radio and other parties to take similar action. "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," she added.
The announcement follows pressure from across the global recording industry. ARIA's policy echoes recommendations recently laid out in July by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, known as the IFPI. Last month, a group of major labels also called on charting organizations to prohibit AI-generated music from their lists. That push included support from Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, the three largest labels in the world.
The policy puts Australia among the first countries to formally codify AI restrictions into chart eligibility rules. Whether other national recording associations follow with their own bans remains to be seen, but the movement now has backing from the three biggest labels in the world and an international industry body.
