Here’s an idea, maybe we should appreciate the ARIAs a little more?

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Dissing our local awards shows is a national pastime I can generally get behind, but the knee-jerk cynicism flooding social media after last night’s ARIA Awards is ludicrous.

“Are the ARIAs even relevant any more?” people ask. Well, maybe not when our commercial TV broadcasters air the ceremony on delay after winners have already been publicly announced, and then interrupt the whole thing mid-telecast so they can squeeze in an episode of Big Brother.

Amyl and the Sniffers claimed the top prize at yesterday’s ARIA Awards.

Network 10 was the problem last night, ditching the live broadcast to their affiliated streamer Paramount+, but Channel Nine did the same thing last year and the year before. Maybe if we want our main Australian music awards to be more relevant, our broadcasters could start by treating them as more than an annoying afterthought each year?

“The ARIAs are so out of touch, why did it take them so long to give Amyl and the Sniffers the top prize?” went another critique. Sure, the Melbourne rockers have been a global sensation for years now, but their breakout Comfort To Me was actually nominated for album of the year at the 2022 ARIAs, losing only to Baker Boy’s opus Gela.

If you wanna argue that a throwback pub-rock band should’ve won the top prize over the first Indigenous rapper to ever claim it, a thrilling moment for an awards institution that for so long treated BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) artists and hip-hop as niche outsider stuff, then go ahead, there’s probably some “anti-woke” podcast that would love you on it.

“Who even are all these winners? I’ve never heard of them!” went yet another critique. Well, good – now thanks to the ARIA Awards, you’ve finally been exposed to something from outside your AM talkback radio bubble!

Maybe instead of just complaining endlessly, you could actually give a spin to Boy Soda’s Soulstar and find out exactly why the Central Coast neo-soul singer won the prize for best soul/R&B release? Or you could find out why beloved Western Sydney rapper Barkaa beat out perennial winners the Hilltop Hoods for best hip-hop/rap release for her EP Big Tidda? There’s a whole world out there for you beyond, I dunno, your Daryl Braithwaite cassettes.

The ARIAs haven’t always been great at recognising our best musical talent – I’ll still never get over the fact that the award for best soul/R&B release is barely five years old; also, why is song of the year still a publicly voted prize? – but the current administration has done some work towards rectifying this, including expanding nominee numbers and prioritising new music on their charts.

That last night’s ceremony included multiple first-time winners and performances from artists who are rarely given moments to shine on such a big stage – more Pania and Larissa Lambert forever, please – should be commended. And if ARIA’s collaboration with Spotify has proven controversial, I can only imagine the controversy if Australia’s key music organisation somehow wasn’t working with the biggest music streaming platform in the world to try to help push Australian music.

Complaining about the ARIAs is fun, but sometimes the ARIAs isn’t really the problem, if you know what I’m saying? (You can’t see me, but I’m holding up a mirror right at you.)