ARIAS 2006 TAKES SHAPE

The 20th ARIA Awards will be held on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, at Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park (formerly the Sydney SuperDome) and telecast on Network Ten at 7.30pm that night. The ARIA Awards recognise excellence and innovation in all genres of Australian music and this year will be no exception with the 2006 Awards marking their 20th Anniversary.

The 2005 Awards were dominated by artists receiving their first ever Awards including Grinspoon, Eskimo Joe, Mia Dyson, The Go-Betweens and Daniel Merriweather, but it was Missy Higgins who stormed the 19th ARIA Awards winning an impressive five ARIAs including Best Female Artist, Highest Selling Album and the coveted Album of the Year and Ben Lee who walked away with three trophies including Best Male Artist and Single of the Year. 2005/06 has been a bumper year for Australian artists with the likes of Bernard Fanning, Wolfmother, Shannon Noll, The Veronicas, Rogue Traders, Pete Murray, Eskimo Joe and Human Nature all releasing platinum selling albums as well as Gold album releases from Something For Kate, Hilltop Hoods, Augie March and Lee Kernaghan during the eligibility period.

“2005/06 has been a fantastic year for Australian music as the music public and industry embraced both a new wave of young, fresh artists and the brilliant established performers at its heart. This year, the ARIA Awards not only celebrate their 20th anniversary but together with the great talent in this year’s nominations look set to be the biggest ARIA event yet,” said ARIA Chairman, Denis Handlin AM

Chairman of the ARIA Awards Committee, Ed St John, was excited about the continuing development of the Australian music industry. "The strong sales in 2005/06 of so many homegrown acts underpinned a rich and strong industry," he said. St John also underscored the importance of the ARIA’s continuing association with Network Ten and acknowledged the strong support of ARIA Awards and Chart sponsor, Motorola.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the 2006 ARIA Awards and proud to foster the development of Australian grown musical talent. Motorola is passionate about music and our involvement with ARIA is a perfect voting mechanism to ensure Australia’s music is number one” concluded Andrew Volard, Managing Director Motorola Australia and New Zealand.

The very first ARIA Awards took place at Sydney’s Sheraton Wentworth Hotel on March 2, 1987, in front of 500 industry guests. The 20th anniversary Awards are expected to be held in front of 2500 industry guests, 5000 members of the general public, and watched by over 1.5 million people via Network Ten’s broadcast.

"20 years of ARIA Awards is a phenomenal achievement, and on this historic anniversary TEN is proud to once again be the ARIA’s broadcast partner. Each year Australia’s pinnacle music event goes from strength to strength, dazzling viewers and music lovers across the country" said David Mott, chief programming officer, Network Ten.

Tickets to this star-studded event will go on sale to the general public (all ages) on Thursday,
September 21, 2006. This year’s ARIA Awards will feature a total of 9 performances from Australia’s finest recording artists. The coveted performance slots will be announced after the Nominations Event on Wednesday, September 13.

Over 1,000 members of the Australian music industry begin casting their votes on Wednesday, August 16. Once voting has closed on Friday, August 25 and the numbers crunched, the final five nominees across 28 ARIA Award categories will be announced in Sydney on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. The Nominations’ Event will also feature the presentation of this year’s ARIA Artisan Awards for Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year, Best Cover Art and Best Video.

In its third year as part of the ARIA Awards program, the ARIA Fine Arts Awards will be held on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, in the magnificent Verbrugghen Hall at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music.

At this event (to be simulcast on ABC Classic FM) the winners in the categories of Best Classical Album, Best Jazz Album, and Best Original Soundtrack/Cast Recording will be announced along with the ABC Classic FM Listeners’ Choice Award for Best Classical Album.

Of course, the final date in the ARIA calendar of events for 2006 is Sunday October 29, when the 20th ARIA Awards will unveil the remaining 20 category winners.

KEY DATES:
Eligibility period for releases – Tuesday, August 16, 2005 to Saturday, August 5, 2006 inclusive
Voting period – Wednesday, August 16, 2006 to Friday, August 25, 2006 inclusive
Hall of Fame event – Wednesday, August 16, 2006, Plaza Ballroom, Melbourne
Tickets on sale to ARIA Members – Monday, September 4, 2006
Tickets on sale to Industry – Monday, September 11, 2006
ARIA Nominees announced and ARIA Artisan Awards presented - Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tickets on sale to General Public – Thursday, September 21, 2006
ARIA Fine Arts Awards presented at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music - Wednesday, October 11, 2006

2006 ARIA AWARDS:
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park (formerly Sydney SuperDome)
Broadcast exclusively on Network Ten at 7.30pm