The ARIA Hall of Fame will fling-open its doors in 2026 for a special, separate ceremony.
When the ARIA Awards celebrates its 40th anniversary two years from now, the HoF will get a standalone platform, at which more heroes and legends from Australian music will be tapped for induction.
Annabelle Herd, CEO of ARIA and PPCA, announced the special event from the stages of BIGOUND 2024, when she delivered the “State of Play” keynote address Thursday morning, Sept. 5.
To celebrate the ARIAs milestone “we will be holding a separate event to induct a larger number of people into the ARIA Hall of Fame at once,” she explained.
“It’s something we’ve had in the pipeline for some time and a decision that was made by the board to recognise the incredible contribution many others have made to the Australian music landscape and we’ll be announcing more details next year because being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame is a special moment and an important one for an artist.”
Annabelle Herd delivers 2024 BIGSOUND keynote
She continued, “we are proud and unapologetic about giving these inductees a chance to springboard off these of this opportunity to benefit their careers, grow new fanbases and take advantage of the spotlight that this honour can bring if they choose to do so.”
The ceremony signals a return to the recording industry’s glory days. ARIA has inducted artists into its Hall since 1988, when five acts got the nod: Dame Joan Sutherland, Johnny O’Keefe, Slim Dusty, Col Joye, Vanda & Young and AC/DC.
In 2005, ARIA launched a standalone ceremony ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame, where multiple acts were saluted. It proved to a popular, but short-lived show. As the industry struggled in a post-digital download landscape, the ceremony returned to the general ARIA Music Awards from 2011, with two new inductees.
From 2012, just one act has been inducted at each ceremony. With her keynote address, Herd also addressed the “elephant in the room” – the induction of Missy Higgins in this year’s HoF.
The elevation of Higgins, an artist very much at the peak of her powers, with a new album dropping Friday, and a headline tour selling more than 80,000 tickets in moments, has been criticised in some corners by observers furious about acts from earlier generations missing their chance. 
“We know that there are still many, many deserving artists who have yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Herd explained.
“But as much as we exist to celebrate great art and artistry, we also exist to promote Australian artists and the Hall of Fame is a two way street.”
Each year, one artist is selected “to give them their true, deserving moment in the spotlight closing out the awards and we want that artist to be just as excited about their entry as we are. Believe it or not, there are artists we approach who aren’t just aren’t keen, or aren’t keen yet, to be inducted.”
For several, pandemic-interrupted years, inductions were paused. “While we have been rebuilding the ARIAs in a new market post-pandemic, Hall of Fame inductees deserve us at our best.”
The awards, she noted, “are a challenging, complicated and expensive event to deliver. I am super lucky that the team that delivers it does so with love, passion and a strong purpose to spotlight our incredible artists.”
For her 45-minute industry address, Herd discussed AI, the national charts, the “absolute moment” Australian dance music is having on the global stage, and the stink of tall-poppy syndrome.
“One of the most important things we can do as an industry is to rally behind and support one another,” she explained. “When we come together and lift each other up, amazing things can happen.”
She added, “we need to be unapologetic in our promotion of Australian music. We’ve got an incredible wealth of talent in this country and we should be shouting that from the rooftops, whether it’s a ARIA Amplified other initiatives that everybody else is doing. We need to be celebrating and championing our others. And of course, we need to continue to foster a sense of unity and collaboration with the industry.”
The industry’s numbers are up, thanks to streaming and the energised vinyl market. Australia’s recorded music industry enjoyed a fifth consecutive year of growth in 2023, as wholesale revenue climbed to $676 million – a double-digit year-on-year spike.
Herd concluded, “we’ve got the talent, the support and the drive to take Australian music to new heights. I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together. Let’s make Australian music, something that the world cannot ignore.”
The 2024 ARIA Awards will be presented Nov. 20th at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. Round one for voting is now open, from which nominations will be streamed live on Sept. 26 on the ARIA Awards website.
