{"slug": "australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral", "title": "Australia bans fully AI-generated songs from official music charts after viral Madonna cover", "summary": "Australia's Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has banned wholly AI-generated songs from its official music charts, requiring recordings to be 'substantially human made' to qualify, with the new rules first applied to the chart published on Friday. The decision follows controversy over Brisbane DJ Josh Fawaz's AI-assisted cover of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer', which became the most-played song on Australian radio in July and has amassed over 48 million Spotify streams. ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said the rules allow artists to use AI tools while keeping human creativity at the heart of the charts, but music generated wholesale by services built on artists' recordings is a different matter.", "body_md": "# Australia bans fully AI-generated songs from official music charts after viral Madonna cover\n\nJosh 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\n\n- Bookmark\n- CommentsGo to comments\n\n[Australia](/topic/australia) has banned wholly [AI](/topic/ai)-generated songs from its official music charts, with a controversial cover of [Madonna](/topic/madonna)’s “Like a Prayer” set to become one of the first casualties of the new rules.\n\nThe 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.\n\nHowever, tracks that use [“generative AI in a supporting role”](/tech/musicians-spotify-taylor-swift-consumers-facebook-b3036023.html) and are “substantially human made” will be allowed. [“Wholly AI-generated tracks”](/tech/ai-music-deezer-spotify-artists-b2863687.html) or [songs that use AI “to generate the entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements”](/arts-entertainment/grammys-ai-artificial-intelligence-song-making-b2911038.html) will be ineligible.\n\nAria 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.\n\nIf an ineligible recording has reached No 1, the organisation can revoke the Aria No 1 Award or ask for it to be returned.\n\nArtists and their representatives can challenge an exclusion and submit evidence that their recording should remain eligible.\n\nThe 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.\n\nFawaz’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.\n\nEnjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music\n\nSign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.\n\n[Try for free](https://amzn.to/32gdyhr)\n\nADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.\n\nMusic producer Mitch Thomas, who performs as Needs No Sleep, alleged on his social media that Fawaz’s music was “generated entirely with [AI](/news/deezer-london-british-people-studies-b2817322.html)” and said it sounded like music produced using the generative AI platform Suno.\n\nFawaz dismissed Thomas’s criticism, telling him to “stop having a little sook” – Australian slang for whinging – and said he used AI “as a tool”.\n\nThe track’s [Spotify](/topic/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.\n\nWhile 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.\n\nAria chief executive Annabelle Herd said the rules would allow artists to use AI while keeping human creativity at the heart of the charts.\n\n“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.\n\nShe added that a chart rewarding “unlicensed [AI output](/tech/netflix-ai-artificial-intelligence-shows-tv-b3016826.html)” would undermine the purpose of the charts, which are intended to measure the music Australians are actually consuming.\n\n“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.\n\nThe change follows a similar move in [Sweden](/topic/sweden), where an AI-generated song was kept off the country’s official chart earlier this year despite becoming a streaming hit.\n\n“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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n## Join our commenting forum\n\nJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies\n\n[Comments](#comments-area)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/australia-bans-ai-songs-madonna-cover-music-charts-b3038639.html", "published_at": "2026-08-25 07:35:35+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-25 07:45:40.496388+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "generative-ai"], "entities": ["Australian Recording Industry Association", "Josh Fawaz", "Madonna", "Mitch Thomas", "Needs No Sleep", "Suno", "Spotify", "Annabelle Herd"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/australia-bans-fully-ai-generated-songs-from-official-music-charts-after-viral.jsonld"}}