Australia has become one of the first countries to formally bar largely or wholly AI-generated songs from its official music charts. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced that from now on, any release eligible for its charts must be "substantially human made" — a move designed to protect the human element of artistry as synthetic tracks flood streaming services and radio playlists.
The decision follows a controversy involving Australian DJ Josh Fawaz, whose AI-assisted cover of Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' reached No. 1 on the ARIA dance singles chart and peaked at No. 2 overall. After a public backlash, Fawaz added generative AI credits to the track, which has been streamed more than 48 million times on Spotify alone.
Under the new rules, artists can still use AI as part of their creative process, but humans must have written the song and performed the lead vocal and primary instruments. AI-assisted mastering remains permitted. ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd explained: "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." She added: "A chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent."
Industry voices weigh in
The debate over AI in music has drawn contrasting reactions from established artists. Seven-time Grammy-winning producer Dr Dre told The New York Times that he sees AI as another tool in the music-tech toolbox. "I don't see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating," he said. He drew a parallel with earlier innovations: "I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI, and I'm like, 'OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.' Or synthesisers, right?"
ARIA's move comes as AI's presence in the industry becomes harder to ignore. A new study by SubmitHub, an online platform for submitting music to playlists and blogs, found that almost 40 per cent of new music released globally in July 2026 used AI in its creation. The company analysed more than one million tracks using its SH Labs AI detector, finding that 23.2 per cent were fully AI-generated, while another 15.3 per cent contained AI-generated audio that had been "modified or processed" by humans.
SubmitHub's founder Jason Grishkoff said: "I think the path forward for AI music is disclosure. People should be able to decide for themselves whether they want to engage with AI-generated music."
Platforms respond
Spotify is already taking steps to make AI-generated artists easier to spot. From September, the streaming giant will add an "AI Persona" badge to some artist profiles, allowing users to identify artists whose music may have been generated using artificial intelligence. AI Personas will also be excluded from Spotify's editorial and algorithmic recommendations, in an effort to give greater visibility to music made by genuine human musicians. Last year, the platform revealed that it had removed 75 million spam tracks over a 12-month period, as AI tools contributed to a flood of low-quality and fraudulent music.
The rise of AI-generated music has also raised concerns beyond the charts. A recent investigation into AI-generated kids' videos linked them to cognitive decline and radicalization, highlighting the broader societal risks of unregulated synthetic media. Meanwhile, the Spotify badge initiative is part of a wider industry effort to bring transparency to a market increasingly saturated with machine-made tracks.
The Velvet Sundown: a case study
The alarming success of AI-generated music is perhaps best illustrated by The Velvet Sundown, a psychedelic rock project that appeared on Spotify in 2025 and quickly amassed more than a million monthly listeners. The band presented itself as a genuine four-piece from the US, complete with names, photographs, and elaborate biographies. But doubts emerged when Reddit users questioned the band's authenticity after their music began appearing in listeners' Discover Weekly playlists. The band's social media initially denied the allegations, insisting the music was created by "real" people using "real instruments, real minds, and real soul." Eventually, the Spotify profile was updated to acknowledge the truth: the band described itself as a "synthetic music project guided by human creative direction," with music, voices, lyrics, and imagery created with the assistance of AI. The group still has more than 100,000 monthly listeners, and several tracks have over a million streams.
The phenomenon has also spilled into more traditional measures of musical success, with the AI-generated country project Breaking Rust gaining traction. As Australia takes a stand, the question remains whether other countries and chart organisations will follow suit. For now, the message from ARIA is clear: human artistry must remain at the core of what is celebrated and rewarded.
