AUSTIN (KXAN) — Australia banned music made entirely by artificial intelligence from ranking on its official charts and being a contender at the country’s version of the Grammys.
According to the Australian Record Industry Association, music that has some AI components but still has people writing the song and performing the lead vocals and primary instruments will still be allowed.
The news comes as Josh Fawaz’ cover of Madonna’s song “Like a Prayer,” which contains AI-generated vocals and drums, spent 16 weeks on Australia’s top 20 chart.
The goal in banning music made entirely by AI is to protect Australian artists’ livelihoods, said Dave Madden, a member of the advisory panel for nonprofit Austin Texas Musicians.
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Madden was there when Austin musicians met with local lawmakers earlier this summer for a panel on AI in music. The panel’s intention was to hopefully pass legislation on the topic,
“Learning how to play music is hard to do, but it’s worth it. And if you practice and you learn how to sing, how to read music, how to play an instrument, and you get to play with other people, the way that feels is better than any applause, better than any amount of social media likes, shares or Spotify streams,” he said.
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