Key facts
- Josh Fawaz's cover of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' has achieved significant commercial success, topping Australian radio airplay charts and garnering millions of streams.
- Music experts and fellow artists have raised concerns that the song may have been produced using generative AI, citing characteristics like heavy compression.
- Fawaz maintains he uses AI as a tool in his music production process.
- The success of AI-generated music raises questions about the value of human expression and the distribution of royalties.
- Australian performing rights organizations will ensure royalties are paid to the original human creators of 'Like a Prayer'.
Questions are emerging about the production of Josh Fawaz's hit song 'Like a Prayer,' which has achieved significant success on Australian radio and global charts. Music experts and fellow artists are scrutinizing whether generative AI was used to create the track, citing characteristics common to AI-generated music. Fawaz has stated that he utilizes AI as a tool in his creative process, emphasizing his commitment to producing good music. The controversy highlights broader concerns within the music industry regarding the role of AI, the definition of human expression, and the fair distribution of royalties.
Fawaz's cover of 'Like a Prayer' reached the number one spot on the National Radio Airplay chart and has accumulated 35 million streams on Spotify. His debut album, 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching,' also performed well on the ARIA charts. While a new commercial radio code of practice mandates transparency for AI-generated voices, it does not extend to music production.
Producer and DJ Needs No Sleep has voiced strong concerns, stating that AI-generated music receives royalties and that artists' work is used to train AI models, potentially diverting income from human creators. He noted that AI music often has distinguishable features such as 'sloppy drums' and vocals with 'artefacts.'
Representatives from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) confirmed that Fawaz is a member and that royalties for 'Like a Prayer' will be paid to the original human copyright holders, Madonna and Patrick Leonard. The success of AI-generated songs on charts has prompted major labels to explore deals with AI music companies, while some tech firms are seeking to relax copyright laws to use Australian content for AI model improvement.