Cory Bernardi has told Australian artists asking to be removed from his party's "alternative to the Hottest 100" playlist that they should be thankful for the royalties, after one band included in the list told him "go f*** yourself".

The senator's Australian Conservatives party announced the #AC100 yesterday, saying the move was prompted by triple j's decision to move its annual Hottest 100 countdown away from Australia Day this year.

The party released a Spotify playlist of tracks from Australian artists and invited people to vote for their favourites.

The logo for the playlist, which echoes Triple M's decision to host an "Ozzest 100" on January 26, includes the triple j drum with an Australian Conservatives logo stamped on it.

Men At Work's Down Under tops the list, with Cold Chisel's Khe Sanh and John Farnham's You're The Voice rounding out the top three. ( Twitter: Australian Conservatives )

But some artists, including Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes, Powderfinger and hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods, are demanding to be taken off the list.

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Senator Bernardi said the reaction amounted to "intolerant censorship" and said all Australians should be entitled to enjoy music regardless of whether their political views aligned with the artists'.

"Suddenly artists are saying, 'You're not allowed to add my songs to your playlist … because I don't agree with your political views'," he told RN Breakfast.

"This is absurd, it's outrageous."

The senator denied claims he was politicising the playlist by sharing it on his party website and Twitter account.

"I want people to listen to great Australian music and I've made it easy for them to do so," he said.

The AC100 Top 10 1. Down Under - Men At Work 2. Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel 3. You're The Voice - John Farnham 4. Great Southern Land - Icehouse 5. I Still Call Australia Home - Peter Allen 6. I Am Australian - Judith Durham, Russell Hitchcock & M Yunupingu 7. Solid Rock - Goanna 8. A Pub With No Beer - Slim Dusty 9. The Boys Light Up - Australian Crawl 10. C'mon Aussie C'mon - Let The Music Play

"[Artists] can beat it up and complain, they can threaten me with legal action … the simple answer is: take your songs off the streaming service if you don't want people to play them and support them."

Responding to the request from Hayes to remove Savage Garden's To The Moon And Back, which is at number 61 on the alternative list, Senator Bernardi suggested the artist should be grateful for the royalties.

"[Darren Hayes] gets a royalty for every time it's played, he should be thanking us."

He also told Hayes to "get over yourself" on Twitter, adding: "Music is for everyone."

The complaint from Hilltop Hoods — featured at 82 with the song 1955 — employed more colourful language, with the band simply tweeting at Senator Bernardi "go f*** yourself".

Senator Bernardi said he thought Hilltop Hoods had some "boppy little songs" that he "kind of" enjoyed. ( AAP: Dan Peled )

"I actually do enjoy their [Hilltop Hoods'] music, but I don't have to like their politics," Senator Bernardi said.

"I don't have to enjoy their political or social activism to say, 'Hey, they're talented, they're Australian, and they've got some boppy little songs that I kind of enjoy'."

Icehouse frontman Iva Davies, who featured at number four with Icehouse's Great Southern Land, said he could "get by" without any royalties generated through the senator's playlist.

"With respect to Mr Bernardi's website, I think I could probably do without the minute sum that will generate," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

Davies said he was "less than happy" about his work being associated with politics of any nature, and that his complaint was not directed at Senator Bernardi's politics in particular.

"I have the right to have the song not associated with whatever I want to — that's my right as a composer," he said.

Jimmy Barnes, whose music also appeared on the list three times, tweeted to ask: "Why would you listen to anything Cory Bernardi says, especially about music?"

Men At Work's Down Under tops Senator Bernardi's list, with Cold Chisel's Khe Sanh at number two and John Farnham's You're The Voice rounding out the top three.