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Is the most popular song played on Australian radio stations the product of generative AI?
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An Australian producer's cover of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' has soared to the top of the National Radio Airplay chart, but music experts and fellow artists are questioning whether the track was created using generative artificial intelligence. Josh Fawaz, who released the song in April, has seen his profile explode, yet skepticism surrounds the authenticity of his work. The controversy highlights growing tensions over AI's role in music production and its impact on human artistry.
Fawaz began releasing music in the 2010s but achieved commercial success only after pivoting to AI-assisted covers this year. While producers commonly use software and AI tools to enhance tracks, generative AI can create songs from a text prompt with minimal human input. Fawaz's credits list himself as the performer and his uncle Fadi Fawaz on synths and production, but experts argue the final product bears the hallmarks of AI generators like Suno.
Since its release, 'Like a Prayer' has amassed 35 million streams on Spotify and topped the iTunes Electronic chart worldwide. It reached No. 1 on Australia's National Radio Airplay chart, and Fawaz's debut album 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching' climbed to No. 18 on the Aria Australian artist albums chart. These milestones came as commercial radio networks played the track thousands of times, despite a new code of practice requiring transparency about AI-generated voices, though it does not apply to music.
The implications are significant: if AI-generated songs pass as human creations, they divert royalties from real artists while exploiting their work for training data. Sam Whiting, a senior research fellow at RMIT, described the vocal performance as 'very impressive if delivered by a human,' warning that without transparency, 'worrying questions around what we value in terms of human expression' arise. The large radio networks ARN, Nova Entertainment, and Southern Cross Austereo did not respond to requests for comment on their AI policies.
Reactions have been sharp. Producer and DJ Needs No Sleep called AI-generated content the 'biggest issue in music right now,' noting that AI tracks collect royalties that would otherwise support human musicians. He pointed to 'sloppy drums' and vocal artefacts as giveaways. Fawaz hit back on Instagram, claiming he uses AI 'as a tool' and that his priority is providing 'good music.' Neither Fawaz nor his management company responded to questions from Guardian Australia.
The future of music creation hangs in the balance. As big tech companies push for weakened Australian copyright laws to scrape content for AI training, musicians fear a flood of AI-generated hits that crowd out human expression. The 'Like a Prayer' case underscores the urgent need for clear labelling and updated regulations to preserve the integrity of artistic work in the age of generative AI.
