As human voiced amplified against Brisbane DJ’s Josh Fawaz‘s non disclosed AI use in hit remix of Madonna‘s Like a Prayer, over the weekend he has finally updated the song credits to reflect the generative AI vocals and drums.

As the discussions raged Spotify removed 75 million AI tracks that were cluttering up their database, a new global labelling system was announced by IFPI to give fans clearer information about the use of generative AI in sound recordings and the Albanese Government declared the establishment a set of Australian Standards for AI.

I am pleased that Josh has finally clarified the origins of the vocals, but would like this to not be considered an Australian recording for radio airplay quota purposes. If I were to turn in a paper at Uni using someone else’s work and fine tuning it through ChatGPT, I’d fail. There is nothing in Josh’s production that lends itself to being Aussie made.

The next battle is for commercial radio in Australia to evaluate the damage it does to its value when it chooses to play further mostly AI generated remixes and remakes of originals.

This importance of the broadcast industry taking a stance on this is evidenced by Spotify’s actions removing some of their copious AI slop. I have found that Spotify’s ‘recommended’ options of late are driving me away from the platform and back to physical media, and to radio.

Physical media is where I hear the real McCoy (not the dance band, although you just might on your 90s mix) and radio has tended to be where I’ve found the next band, act, song that has resonated. Radio needs to keep it that way, without blurred boundaries. Like a Prayer is simply the first warning.

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo. Email: [email protected]. You can subscribe to this publication for just $199 per annum (less for community stations, students and pensioners) and support local media. Celebrate Radioinfo in its 30th year.

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