Awards nights are about telling stories and creating stories. The Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards currently do neither.
The night should change – make them the “music industry” awards: Including soundtracks, best use of music in games, best gigs, best festivals, best use of music in a commercial venture, best mashups, best tour, best music industry character, etc.
“Recording industry awards” is an anachronism in the digital / experiential age. The ARIA awards celebrate a distribution channel and the companies built from this channel, rather than a magic form of art.
The ARIA Awards are lame, they’re outdated, they’re introspective, they’re disconnected from the music industry; most importantly, they’re disconnected from music fans.