Josh Fawaz’s cover of Madonna’s 'Like a Prayer' became the most-played song on radio before its AI-generated vocals and drums were disclosed
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The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which runs Australia’s official charts, has ruled that recordings must be “substantially human made” to qualify. The new rules will first be used for the Aria chart published on Friday.
However, tracks that use “generative AI in a supporting role” and are “substantially human made” will be allowed. “Wholly AI-generated tracks” or songs that use AI “to generate the entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements” will be ineligible.
Aria will also have the power to remove recordings from its charts if they are later found to be ineligible, including retrospectively, and can adjust chart positions or withdraw accreditations.
If an ineligible recording has reached No 1, the organisation can revoke the Aria No 1 Award or ask for it to be returned. Artists and their representatives can challenge an exclusion and submit evidence that their recording should remain eligible.
The timing is significant for Brisbane DJ and producer Josh Fawaz, whose version of “Like a Prayer” became the most-played song on Australian radio in July and is currently No 1 on Aria’s Australian Dance Singles chart.
Fawaz’s cover, which spent 16 weeks on the Top 20 Australian Singles chart and is currently at No 4, has since become the subject of dispute as it continued to climb the charts.
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Music producer Mitch Thomas, who performs as Needs No Sleep, alleged on his social media that Fawaz’s music was “generated entirely with AI” and said it sounded like music produced using the generative AI platform Suno.
Fawaz dismissed Thomas’s criticism, telling him to “stop having a little sook” – Australian slang for whinging – and said he used AI “as a tool”.
The track’s Spotify credits were subsequently updated to acknowledge that AI had been used for its vocals and drums and has since amassed more than 48 million Spotify streams.
While Aria has not yet confirmed that Fawaz’s track will be removed, a spokesperson from the organisation told the* Australia Broadcasting Corps* that music featuring AI-generated lead vocals or key instrumental parts would likely be excluded under the new rules, meaning the “Like a Prayer” cover could be ineligible. Aria chief executive Annabelle Herd said the rules would allow artists to use AI while keeping human creativity at the heart of the charts.
“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,” Herd said.
She added that a chart rewarding “unlicensed AI output” would undermine the purpose of the charts, which are intended to measure the music Australians are actually consuming.
“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 said.
The change follows a similar move in Sweden, where an AI-generated song was kept off the country’s official chart earlier this year despite becoming a streaming hit.
“Jag vet, du är inte min”, released under the name Jacub, had attracted about five million Spotify streams and topped Spotify’s Swedish rankings before IFPI Sweden ruled that it was primarily AI-generated and barred it from the official Sverigetopplistan chart.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has since been pushing to stop AI-generated songs from competing with human-made recordings on official charts. In July, the (IFPI announced new eligibility rules requiring chart entries to be substantially human-made, with more than 20 official chart programmes adopting the principles. ARIA said its new rules were drawn up in line with the IFPI framework.
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