ARIA Music Awards
| Company type | Awards ceremony |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Peter Rix (inaugural chairperson) |
| Products | Annual music awards |
| Website | www |
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards—widely referred to as the ARIA Music Awards or simply the ARIAs—serve as an annual celebration of achievements within Australia's music sector. These awards are managed by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and were first introduced in 1987. The event recognizes excellence across a broad range of categories, including genre-specific honors, Fine Arts Awards, Artisan Awards, Achievement Awards, and induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame. While the Hall of Fame ceremonies were conducted separately from 2005 through 2010, they were reintegrated into the main awards night beginning in 2011. Notably, in 2010 ARIA incorporated awards determined by public voting for the first time.
Securing a nomination or victory at the ARIA Awards significantly elevates an artist’s visibility in the media and often leads to increased sales. For instance, following his triple win at the 2005 ceremony, Ben Lee saw his album Awake Is the New Sleep climb dramatically from No. 31 to No. 5 on the ARIA Charts. In October 1995, Tina Arena made history as the first female artist to earn both the Album of the Year for Don't Ask (1994) and the Song of the Year for "Chains". Prior to receiving these accolades, her album had achieved triple platinum certification (210,000 units shipped) and by year’s end had reached eight times platinum (560,000 units), securing the top spot on the year-end albums chart.
History
The formation of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) occurred in 1983, initiated by six leading Australian record companies: EMI, Festival Records, CBS (currently Sony Music), RCA (now part of BMG), WEA (today known as Warner Music), and PolyGram (presently Universal). This organization succeeded the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers (AARM), which had been established in 1956. Over time, ARIA broadened its membership to include numerous independent labels and presently represents over 100 members.
Between 1983 and 1984, the popular Australian television pop music program Countdown produced its own annual awards show in collaboration with ARIA. While ARIA contributed peer-based voting for certain categories, Countdown relied on audience votes collected through magazine coupons. However, during the 1985 Countdown awards broadcast, disturbances among fans—particularly between supporters of INXS and Uncanny X-Men—prompted ARIA to create its own independent awards ceremony. Journalist Anthony O'Grady highlighted these tensions as a catalyst for establishing a peer-voted event within the industry.
Subsequently, ARIA withdrew its involvement with Countdown awards. Key industry figures such as talent manager Peter Rix alongside executives Brian Harris, Peter Ikin, and Gil Robert championed a peer-judged awards ceremony endorsed by ARIA that would impartially acknowledge outstanding achievements in recording. To finance this initiative, record companies committed to purchasing tickets for a dinner event where the awards would be presented. After extensive discussions, Rix was appointed as chairperson for the inaugural ARIA Awards committee.
The debut ARIA Music Awards ceremony took place on 2 March 1987 at Sydney’s Sheraton Wentworth Hotel with Elton John serving as host. These awards are decided exclusively through peer voting with a mission to "recognise excellence and innovation in all genres of Australian music" via an annual gala. Established in 1988, the ARIA Hall of Fame honors artists who have made significant contributions either nationally or internationally; between 2005 and 2010 it held separate events before merging back into the main ceremony in 2011.
In its early years, live performances were absent from ceremonies; instead, nightclub DJ Rick Powell provided musical interludes. Apart from the 1992 event held in Melbourne, all ceremonies have been staged in Sydney. The introduction of publicly voted categories occurred in 2010. Receiving an ARIA nomination or award consistently results in heightened media attention and can lead to notable improvements in sales and chart rankings—for example, Ben Lee’s Awake Is the New Sleep surged from No. 31 to No. 5 on the ARIA Charts after winning three awards in 2005.
Broadcast history
The initial five ARIA Awards ceremonies were not televised. At the very first event on 2 March 1987, host Elton John recommended avoiding television coverage to preserve the Awards' enjoyable atmosphere. In June 1987, the show Countdown continued to host its own televised awards, so ARIA had no immediate plans for broadcast. The ceremony was televised for the first time in 1992, and every ceremony since then has been broadcast. Between 2002 and 2008, and again in 2010, Network Ten held the broadcasting rights. In 2009, the Nine Network aired the event, while its digital channel GO! presented the 2011 ceremony. For 2023, the Awards will be live-streamed on Stan, with delayed telecasts on Nine Network and YouTube.
Controversy
A notable incident occurred at the 1988 event involving a disagreement between band manager Gary Morris, accepting an award on behalf of Midnight Oil, and presenter Ian "Molly" Meldrum regarding Bryan Ferry's attendance. Morris expressed his disapproval and insulted Ferry, which escalated into a physical altercation with Meldrum. That same year, Midnight Oil received a contentious nomination for Best Indigenous Release despite having no Indigenous members; Morris argued that such awards should be reserved for Indigenous artists. In 1995, when Itch-E and Scratch-E won Best Dance Release, band member Paul Mac controversially thanked Sydney's ecstasy dealers during his acceptance speech, which was bleeped out—particularly provocative given that the National Drug Offensive sponsored the awards that year.
In 2004, during the voting period, former DJ Cousin Creep publicly disclosed his voting credentials online and was subsequently removed from the voting process. The 2007 broadcast attracted criticism when ABC's Media Watch exposed Network Ten for employing illegal subliminal advertising; although Ten denied these claims, their rebuttal drew further negative attention.
Producer Tony Cohen openly criticized ARIA's general awards selection procedure as favoring record company promotion rather than artistic merit, highlighting Gabriella Cilmi's six wins in 2008 despite questions about her career longevity.
The 2010 ceremony faced widespread condemnation: Neil Walker of Crikey described it as an "infamously shambolic Sydney Opera House fiasco," while Rebekah Devlin from The Punch questioned whether the event prioritized musicians or television viewers. Kathy McCabe of The Daily Telegraph observed that recent broadcasts attempted to cover too much and advocated for professional production with sufficient rehearsal time. In 2011, Dave Larkin of Dallas Crane expressed hope for improvements while lamenting the lack of acknowledgement for iconic Australian musicians during the awards.
Nomination process
Eligibility requires a release to be commercially available within the designated timeframe and to contain previously unreleased material; most live albums are excluded. A recording may receive nominations in multiple categories but only one genre-specific category (for example, it cannot be nominated simultaneously for Best Pop Release and Best Dance Release). Generally, reissues and compilations are not eligible.
Artists must hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency and have lived in Australia for at least six months during the eligibility window. For groups, at least half of the members must meet this residency requirement. When a recording credits both an individual artist and a band, nominations must be assigned exclusively to either the individual or the band.
Specific category criteria include:
- Album/Single of the Year: Eligible releases must have appeared within the ARIA Top 100 Albums or Singles charts during the eligibility period.
- Breakthrough Artist (Album/Single): Candidates must not have previously reached a final five nomination in any ARIA category or achieved a prior Top 50 release.
- Best Rock Album: Focused on Contemporary, Modern, and Active Rock radio formats.
- Best Adult Contemporary Album: Aimed at Adult Contemporary radio formats.
- Best Pop Release: Targeted toward CHR/Top 40 radio formats.
- Best Independent Release: Must be released and financed by an ARIA member unaffiliated with multinational corporations.
- Best Music DVD: Compilations are permitted; content must be at least 60% original and qualify for inclusion in the ARIA Music DVD chart.
- Best Comedy Release: Compilations accepted; eligible formats include albums, singles, and DVDs; content must be entirely original.
- Best Children's Album: Compilations allowed with fully original content intended for pre-teen audiences.
- Best Dance Release: Compilations accepted; artists predominantly active in dance genres such as House, Techno, Trance are eligible. For remixed releases, both production teams and original artists must satisfy eligibility and chart requirements.
- Best Urban Release: Intended for artists within R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, reggae, and dancehall genres. Remixed releases require both production teams and original artists to meet eligibility standards and chart criteria. This category was replaced in 2019 by Best Hip Hop Release and Best Soul/R&B Release.
Sales awards permitted up to five submissions per company per category; these did not require initial release dates within the eligibility period but were discontinued after 2010.
Judging process
An independent audit oversees the evaluation of sales awards. The ARIA Board holds exclusive authority to bestow Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement honors. Genre-specific awards are determined by "voting schools" consisting of 40 to 100 representatives from each genre. Broader categories are decided by the "voting academy," which in 2009 comprised 1,106 professionals from the industry.
Membership in the academy is confidential and granted solely by invitation. Each record label may appoint up to eight members. Only artists who were winners or nominees in the preceding year are eligible to participate as artist voters.
Categories
The ARIA Awards cover four main sectors: ARIA Awards (both general and genre-specific), Fine Arts, Artisan, and Public Vote categories. Except for the Public Vote awards—where ARIA nominates candidates and the public selects the winners—all other prizes are awarded through a voting academy or designated judging schools. The tables below organize categories based on their inaugural year; an entry of "N/A" under "last awarded" indicates that the award remains active.
Current
| Category | First awarded | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Awards | |||
| Album of the Year | 1987 (1st) | Initially titled Best Australian Album (1987–1998) | |
| Best Group | Originally known as Best Australian Group (1987–1998) | ||
| Best Adult Contemporary Album | Initially named Best Australian Adult Contemporary Record (1987–1994) and later Release (1995–1998) | ||
| Best Country Album | Started as Best Australian Country Record (1987–1994) and Release (1995–1998) | ||
| Best Children's Album | 1988 (2nd) | Formerly Best Australian Children's Record (1988–1994) and Release (1995–1998); classified under Fine Arts until 2000 | |
| Best Independent Release | 1989 (3rd) | Originally Best Australian Independent Record (1989–1994) and Release (1995–1998) | |
| Best Pop Release | 1994 (8th) | Originally titled Best Australian Pop Dance Record (1994) and subsequently Best Australian Pop Release (1995–1998) | |
| Best Dance Release | 1995 (9th) | Began as Best Australian Dance Release (1995–1998) and later Best Dance Artist Release (1999–2003) | |
| Best Rock Album | 1998 (12th) | Initially named Best Australian Rock Release (1998) | |
| Best Blues and Roots Album | 1999 (13th) | ||
| Breakthrough Artist – Release | 2010 (24th) | Originally Breakthrough Artist in 2010, renamed Breakthrough Artist – Release during 2012–2013, reverted back in 2014; not presented in 2011 | |
| Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album | |||
| Best Hip Hop Release | 2019 (33rd) | ||
| Best Soul/R&B Release | |||
| Best Artist | 2021 (35th) | Previously separated into Male and Female Artist awards from 1987 to 2020 | |
| Fine Arts Awards | |||
| Best Classical Album | 1987 (1st) | Previously titled Best Australian Classical Record/Release (1987–1998) | |
| Best Jazz Album | Formerly known as Best Australian Jazz Record/Release (1987–1998) | ||
| Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Previously divided into separate Soundtrack and Show/Cast awards between 1999-2003; renamed in 2017 to include Musical Theatre Cast Albums | ||
| Best World Music Album | 1995 (9th) |
Originally called Best Folk/World/Traditional Release from 1995 to 1998 |
|
| Artisan Awards | |||
| Best Cover Art | 1987 (1st) |
Previously titled Best Australian Cover Artwork (1987–1998) | |
| Engineer of the Year |
Formerly known as Best Australian Engineer (1987–1998) | ||
| Producer of the Year |
Previously called Best Australian Producer (1987–1998) | ||
| Public Voted Awards | |||
| Single of the Year/Song of the Year | 1987 (1st) |
Initially peer-voted as Best Australian Single/Record of the Year until discontinued in 1998; reinstated in 2012 as a public-voted Song of the Year category. Since 2016, Apple Music sponsors this award, allowing voting through streaming. | |
| Best Video |
Peer-voted artisan award until 2011; public voting began in 2012 among ten nominees. | ||
| Best International Artist |
Launched in 2010 under the title Most Popular International Artist | ||
| Best Australian Live Act |
Introduced in 2011 as Most Popular Australian Live Artist | ||
| Music Teacher of the Year |
Established in 2017 | ||
Retired
| Category | First Presented | Last Presented | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Awards | ||||
| Song of the Year (Songwriter) | 1987 (1st) | 1998 (12th) | Known as Australian Song of the Year from 1987 to 1998, emphasizing songwriting prior to discontinuation | |
| Best Indigenous Release | Initially titled Best Australian Indigenous Record (1987–1994) and later Best Aboriginal/Islander Release (1995). Some nominees did not have Indigenous heritage | |||
| Best New Talent | Originally named Best Australian New Talent (1987–1998) | |||
| Highest-Selling Album | 2011 (25th) | Originally Highest Selling Australian Album (1987–1998). Not awarded in 2010. | ||
| Highest-Selling Single | Originally Highest Selling Australian Single (1987–1998). Not awarded in 2010. | |||
| Breakthrough Artist – Album | 1989 (3rd) | 2011 (25th) | Initially called Best Australian Debut Album (1989–1998), then renamed Best New Artist – Album (1999–2003). Not presented in 2010. | |
| Breakthrough Artist – Single | Originally Best Australian Debut Single (1989–1998), subsequently Best New Artist – Single (1999–2003). Not presented in 2010. | |||
| Best Adult Alternative Album | 1994 (8th) | 2016 (30th) | First introduced as Best Australian Alternative Record (1994), later known as Best Australian Alternative Release (1995–1998), then Best Alternative Release (1999–2001). Discontinued from 2002 to 2009, reinstated as Best Adult Alternative Album in 2010, and discontinued again between 2012 and 2015. | |
| Best Urban Release | 2004 (18th) | 2018 (32nd) | Launched as Best Urban Release from 2004 to 2009, renamed Best Urban Album between 2010 and 2017, then reverted to original title in 2018. After retirement, it was divided into Best Soul/R&B Release and Best Hip Hop Release. | |
| Best Male Artist | 1987 (1st) | 2020 (34th) | Initially titled Best Australian Male Artist from 1987 to 1998; merged into the category Best Artist starting in 2021 | |
| Best Female Artist | Originally known as Best Australian Female Artist from 1987 until 1998; combined into Best Artist category in 2021 | |||
| Best Comedy Release | First awarded as Best Australian Comedy Record (1987–1994) and later as Best Australian Comedy Release (1995–1998) | |||
| Fine Arts Awards | ||||
| Best Music DVD | 2004 (18th) | 2011 (25th) | Presented during the main ceremony between 2004 and 2010; held separately at the nominations event in 2011. | |
| Public Voted Awards | ||||
| Most Popular Australian Album | 2010 (24th) | 2010 (24th) | ||
| Most Popular Australian Single | ||||
- Note: From 2004 onward, ARIA Fine Arts and Artisan Awards were presented separately, returning to the main ceremony starting in 2020.
Hall of Fame and Achievement Recognitions
Since 1988, the ARIA Hall of Fame has annually welcomed new inductees, with exceptions in 2000 and 2021. The ARIA Achievement Awards encompass several categories: Outstanding Achievement introduced in 1988, Special Achievement awarded from 1989 onwards, Lifetime Achievement beginning in 1991, and the Icon Awards established in 2013.
Originally, Hall of Fame inductions were part of the primary ARIA Awards ceremony. However, in 2005, a dedicated event titled ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame was launched, featuring an additional inductee later recognized during the main ARIA Awards. Between 2008 and 2010, the Hall of Fame was celebrated as an independent event without subsequent inductions at the main awards. Since 2011, the Hall of Fame has been reintegrated into the ARIA Awards presentation.
The Trophy
The ARIA trophy has taken the form of a tall triangular pyramid crafted from solid stainless steel since 1990. The initial trophies from 1987 to 1989 were created by Philip Mortlock, while the present design is credited to Mark Denning. The Channel V award is distinguished by a V-shaped design in silver or red, notably seen in 2008. From 2005 onward, the Hall of Fame trophy—based on Denning’s design—is made of gold-colored metal featuring "ARIA" near its base and includes a plaque displaying the award title, recipient’s name, and date.
ARIA Music Awards by Year
For comprehensive details on each year’s awards, please select the corresponding year link.
... [The table continues with additional notable winners and inductees through to 2024] ...
1 Template:Note Rolf Harris’s induction was revoked in 2014 following his criminal conviction.
Most Awards and Nominations
Artists with the greatest number of wins alongside their total nominations:
Jimmy Barnes 7 27 Regurgitator 7 23 Wendy Matthews 7 22 Troye Sivan 7 21 Tina Arena 7 20 Genesis Owusu 7 19 INXS 7 18 Paul Grabowsky 7 17 The Presets 7 17 Richard Tognetti 7 15 The Living End 6 30 Courtney Barnett 6 23 Angus & Julia Stone 6 21 Diesel 6 20 Baker Boy 6 15 Five Seconds of Summer 6 14 Gabriella Cilmi 6 6