First they cleared their own chart, then they turned to radio: Australia is the first to tell the machine its place

The Australian Recording Industry Association has closed its charts to recordings generated wholly by artificial intelligence. Tracks where the machine played a supporting role stay in the game — and the rule has already taken effect.

The updated code was published by ARIA itself on 25 August.

The changes apply from the chart dated 31 August, which came out on the 28th. In other words, the first chart under the new rules has already been published.

What exactly changed in the code

ARIA did not invent the rules from scratch. The association took the global principles on recordings developed with generative AI, drawn up by the international federation IFPI, and applied them to its own chart.

Along with the ban, the disputes procedure was rewritten: an artist and their representatives can contest an exclusion and submit evidence that a recording meets the requirements.

Two older provisions were strengthened too. Those who supply ARIA with chart data are obliged to act lawfully, and sales and streams that cannot be verified may be discarded by the association.

“These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is – to say the least – a rapidly developing space. 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,” said ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd.

The paragraph addressed to radio stations

The most unexpected thing in the statement is not the ban but the request. ARIA publicly turned to those who decide what goes on air, and named radio separately.

“This gives everyone who releases music in Australia a clear rule to work to. 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,” Annabelle Herd said.

So the chart drew the line first and immediately asked others to do the same. For the industry that is the difference between the internal rules of one organisation and an industry-wide standard.

Herd separately explained why the association stepped in at all: a chart that rewards unlicensed machine output undercuts the very basis of the recorded music ARIA exists to represent.

The code is not being frozen. ARIA warned that it will keep it under review as both the technology and AI policy develop.

Earlier we gathered in one place everything the industry has already decided about artificial intelligence — from the Munich court ruling to the label in Spotify.