Australia's ARIA bans wholly AI-generated tracks from its official charts

The Australian Recording Industry Association will bar tracks created entirely by artificial intelligence from its official charts, including the ARIA Top 50 Singles and Albums lists, starting with the chart dated August 31 and published August 28. A recording that uses generative AI in a supporting role can still chart, ARIA said, as long as it is "substantially human made" and raises no stream or chart manipulation concerns.

ARIA drew a specific line between AI-generated and AI-assisted work: a lead vocal or any other key instrumental part produced entirely by AI makes a recording ineligible, while a human lead vocal layered with AI-generated backing vocals still counts as AI-assisted and stays eligible, as does AI mastering, stem separation or an AI drum machine and instrument patches that a person actually plays. Asked whether this treats AI as just another studio tool, like a synthesizer or Auto-Tune, ARIA drew the distinction plainly: "A human using tools is one thing. A performance without a human is another."

The rule carries real teeth. Where ARIA rules a recording ineligible, it can refuse to survey it, pull it from the charts retroactively, adjust chart positions and withdraw accreditations, and it can revoke or reclaim any ARIA number-one award already handed out. An ineligible recording also cannot win an ARIA Award, since the organization has now bound chart eligibility directly to awards eligibility. Artists who believe their recording was wrongly excluded can dispute the ruling with supporting evidence, with unresolved cases going first to the ARIA Chart & Marketing Committee and then the ARIA Board.

The policy builds on a global framework the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry published on July 30, a day after Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group jointly proposed it, and IFPI has since been extending that framework to more than 20 national chart programs, ARIA among them. It also echoes the Recording Academy's 2023 update to the Grammy Awards rules, which already bars any work with no human authorship from every category, though ARIA is among the first bodies outside the US to tie the same standard to its charts.

The move responds to a wave of AI output that has already reached streaming services at scale. Deezer reported in July that it was receiving close to 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks a day in June, more than half of all new uploads to the platform on peak days, even though those tracks accounted for only 1 to 3 percent of total streams. Real artists have already tested the line ARIA is now drawing: both Fenix Flexin and Tyga have acknowledged using AI on recent material, with Tyga's album $TARFACE receiving a 0.0 score from Pitchfork. Spotify has begun labeling AI-generated artist profiles with a badge, and Apple Music plans to add its own "Made with AI" tag later this year.

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said the policy is meant to keep pace with a fast-moving technology rather than lock in a fixed line. "These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is a rapidly developing space," she said, adding that ARIA would keep the Code of Practice under review as AI tools and industry policy around them continue to change.