ARIA has welcomed the new global music industry standard for AI labelling in musical recordings, which was announced overnight.
The system, announced by IFPI alongside the RIAA, A2IM, WIN, IMPALA, The Grammys, SAG-AFTRA and the Human Artistry Campaign, has been designed to give listeners clearer information about what they’re hearing and whether songs they listen to contain generative AI. The system will be rolled out in the “near future”.
Labelling recordings as AI will take place under two umbrellas. The first is “AI-Generated,” which will indicate that generative AI was behind the entire production or primary creation of a recording, whether it’s the lead vocal or an instrumental.
The second is “AI-Assisted,” which will apply to recordings that are substantially recorded and created by humans but utilise generative AI for expressive elements.
The aim is to have simple visual labels so fans can immediately notice if AI was involved in the song they’re planning to listen to. According to a press release, the system will be available to use “in the near future” and will cover generative AI in sound recordings, but doesn’t currently apply to cover lyrics, composition, music videos or cover art.
The news arrives as a song by Australian producer Josh Fawaz, a reworking of Madonna’s Like A Prayer, has caused controversy after topping local radio charts for allegedly being AI-generated.
Under the new rule, Fawaz’s use of AI, be it at a high or low level, would require disclosure.
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The Music has reached out to Fawaz multiple times since his version of Like A Prayer went to #1 on the Radio Monitor Hot 100 over the last month, but he has not responded to interview requests.
Like A Prayer has topped the Radio Monitor Hot 100 (and is currently at #2), with no other Australian artists cracking the top 10.
Additionally, Fawaz’s rework made it #4 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles Chart, #4 on the ARIA Top 20 Dance Singles Chart, and #19 on the ARIA Top 20 New Music Singles Chart.
Yesterday, triple j shared a cheeky post on social media about the most-played song on commercial radio being “allegedly” AI. In a follow-up slide, they shared what human-made music they’ve been playing instead.
The Australian radio industry publication Radio Info published a piece yesterday from Jen Seyderhelm about the need for “better guidelines” on what constitutes an Australian recording for Australian radio quotas, using Fawaz’s hit as a case study.
Seyderhelm added that, while she appreciates that Fawaz produced the remix and has credited “synthesisers,” she argued that the alleged use of AI vocals and the covering of an American song shouldn’t be counted as an Australian music recording.
“This kind of churn and burn needs to have its own special category,” Seyderhelm wrote.
She continued, “What is further disappointing is that as people have clocked what this piece of music is, they have blamed commercial radio for its promotion to mainstream success. Radio used to be the place where you hoped to hear your song played for the first time to be discovered by new fans, and now it’s serving you mindless AI mixes.”
Australian producer Mitch Thomas, who works under the stage name Needs No Sleep, has criticised Fawaz on social media. Responding in the Instagram comment section, Fawaz admitted that he uses AI “as a tool” and “it’s not that deep”.
Despite the controversy surrounding the cover, a spokesperson for APRA AMCOS confirmed to the ABC that Madonna L. Ciccone and Patrick R. Leonard, who wrote Like A Prayer, will still receive royalties.
In a statement, ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd backed the new global music industry standard for AI labelling in musical recordings, saying that Australian music listeners “deserve to know how the music they love has been made.” She added that the incoming system is a “practical, proactive step” to give listeners clarity.
“Human artistry and authenticity are integral to what makes music so powerful,” she continued. “As artists find new ways to use these tools, and as fully AI-generated tracks arrive on streaming services in growing numbers, honest labelling helps listeners make informed choices and keeps human creativity at the centre of our industry.
“We welcome IFPI and its partners bringing the world’s creators and companies together behind a single, clear standard.”
Herd explained that AI labelling is one of many topics of conversation about how AI is presently reshaping creative industries, and said such discussions “require careful and rigorous consideration to find amicable solutions.”
“The complexity of this environment underpins exactly why maintaining the current systems that function to protect artists, like copyright, is so critical,” she said.
Herd concluded, “Copyright protects the most basic rights a creator has: to consent to how their work is used, and to be compensated for it, including when that work is used to train AI models. Clear labelling gives fans transparency; a working copyright system gives creators the consent and payment they are owed.”
Unfortunately, rolling out the new AI labelling system “in the near future” won’t save Australians from alleged AI slop this time around. That’ll be up to Australian radio to do the right thing.
