Awards by Year | 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 | 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 | 1990 1989 1988 1987 |
2012 2011 2010 2009 | 2008 2007 2006 2005 | 2004 2003 2002 2001 | |
• Winner by Category • About Awards |
The ARIA Awards is Australia’s premier music awards ceremony. It is run by the Australian Recording Industry Association to recognise excellence, innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
Today’s ARIA Awards is seen by around 2 million people on television, and approximately 2,500 recording industry guests and 5,000 members of the general public. That’s a far cry from it’s modest beginnings on 2 March 1987 when it was not televised, and only 500 recording industry people attended the event.
ARIA stands for Australian Recording Industry Association. It’s this association that created the ARIA Awards in 1987 to honour and celebrate excellence and innovation in all genres of Australian music.
The very first ARIA Awards ceremony was hosted by Elton John. Unlike today’s lively ceremony, the first three years had no live performances. The ceremony was also not televised until 1991. The 6th ARIA Awards in 1992 in Melbourne, VIC was the only time the Ceremony was not in Sydney.
The 9th ARIA Awards in 1995 was marked by a change in date from March to October. This was done to allow more competition since October is near the music industry’s year end.
The award categories have changed over the years.
The following are the Current Categories of Awards
Picking the Winners The ARIA Award nominees and winners are not chosen by the public. ARIA members submit their nominations each year by around the end of July. In 26 of the 28 categories, the over 1,000 ARIA member voting academy selects the winners. These awards are voted on by people from the music industry including: journalists and critics, ARIA member record companies, past ARIA winners, agents, concert promoters, and others. Two of the categories (Highest Selling Album and Highest Selling Single) are determined by audited sales records. The Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Awards are both determined by the ARIA Board. These special awards are not always given out. | Fine Arts Awards Best Jazz Album Best Classical Album Best World Music Album Best Original Soundtrack, Cast, Show Recording ARIA Public VotedAwards Most Popular Australian Single Most Popular Australian Album Most Popular Australian Artist Most Popular International Artist ARIA Awards Highest Selling Album Highest Selling Single Breakthrough Artist – Release Best Independent Release Best Adult Contemporary Album Best Blues and Roots Album Best Digital Retail Service Best Streaming Service | Artisan Awards Best Cover Art Best Video Producer of the Year Engineer of the Year ARIA Awards Album of the Year Single of the Year Best Pop Release Best Female Artist Best Male Artist Best Group Best Rock Album Best Music DVD Best Dance Release Best Children’s Album Best Country Album Best Urban Release Best Comedy Release |
How to See the Awards
You can get an up-close and personal view of the Awards from your television courtesy of Network Ten’s live broadcast. If you’re outside of Australia, the event is broadcast to international audiences through PAY TV. Check your local listings.
During the week of the event, drop into the ARIA Awards website to see which newspapers will have the ARIA Awards program. It will come in handy when you’re watching the event on TV.
If you’re a die-hard fan and want to be there in person, you can. Tickets are available not only for members of the music industry, but for the general public too. The event is designed for all ages so you can make it a special family event. The ARIA Awards website has information about prices and how to order tickets.
More Information
- ARIA website contains Australia’s official music charts: singles, album, dance, country,
compilations, Australasian, club, urban, and DVD charts. - The official ARIA Awards website has great photos of your favourite recording artists at the ARIAs
along with news and information on how you can get tickets to the next one. You can also look up different recording artists to see how many nominations and awards they’ve won.