ARIA makes changes to singles and albums chart in bid to platform Australian music
Zero Australian artists have made the top 50 singles chart this week, while just five locals feature in the equivalent albums chart.
However, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has announced sweeping changes to their charts in order to give Aussies a better chance at reaching the pointy end.
From September, the ARIA Top 50 Singles and Albums charts, as well as the Top 20 Australian Artist Singles and Albums charts, will focus exclusively on music released within the past two years.
Under the revisions, perennial hits such as The Killers' unkillable Mr. Brightside, which has spent 157 weeks in the top 50, and Vance Joy's Hottest 100-topping Riptide, a whopping 360 weeks in the Australian top 20, will make room for newer music and move to a new chart called ARIA On Replay.
Formerly known as the Catalogue chart, On Replay will also showcase titles that have historically taken up near-permanent residence in the main charts.
That includes multiple older Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran records, country stars Luke Combs and Zach Bryan, and classic Fleetwood Mac album Rumours, which has spent 403 weeks in the Top 50 Albums.
Greatest hits compilations will also transition away from the main charts: everyone from Eminem (402 weeks) and Elton John (336 weeks) to Maroon 5 (321 weeks), Katy Perry (289 weeks) and The Weeknd (228 weeks).
The two-year cut-off is being implemented to "make the charts more dynamic", ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd told ABC Radio Melbourne.
She says the current chart calculations "[don't] really reflect what people are listening to in terms of new music… [these changes] will clear up a lot of space not just for new Australian music but new music generally".
The move comes after 12 months of "modelling and consideration" in consultation with the local industry in a bid to remove barriers for Australian music, which has struggled to compete against legacy releases and big-name overseas names popular on streaming platforms.
It is the biggest change to the charts since ARIA began counting streaming figures towards singles (in 2014) and albums (in 2017), measuring them in combination with downloads and sales of physical formats including vinyl and CDs.
The two-year cut-off rule, which is similar to those in place for France and New Zealand, hopes to renew interest in homegrown talent and address a plummeting local presence on the ARIA charts in recent years.
The changes seek to improve "discoverability" of Australian music, which is being overshadowed in a crowded global marketplace.
"Our aim is to support the discovery and celebration of great Australian music at every stage of its life," Herd added in a statement.
Only six Australians appeared across ARIA's 2024 end-of-year singles and album charts: Vance Joy, The Kid LAROI, DJ and producers Dom Dolla and Cyril, and compilations from Cold Chisel and INXS.
So far this year, there has not been a single Australian to reach the number one spot on the singles chart, while homegrown acts topping the albums chart is a rarity.
The debut solo album from Calum Hood of pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer is currently at number one. The only other Australian albums to reach the top spot so far in 2025 are Jimmy Barnes's latest solo effort Defiant, Brisbane mainstays Ball Park Music's Like Love, and hip hop trio Bliss N Eso's The Moon (The Light Side).
Meanwhile, Western Sydney drill crew Onefour are sitting at number two with their debut album Look At Me Now. They follow Spacey Jane stalling at number two after their third album, If That Makes Sense, was kept from pole position by enigmatic UK metal act Sleep Token.
The chart success of classics has often come at the expense of new music cutting through, but ARIA is introducing an exemption to recognise older songs that experience a Zeitgeist cultural moment.
This week, Black Eyed Peas re-entered the Top 50 Singles chart with Rock That Body, 15 years after its initial release, thanks to the track going viral on TikTok.
It follows in the footsteps of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill getting a Stranger Things revival and Fleetwood Mac's Dreams getting signal-boosted by a skateboarding cranberry-juice-drinker.
A special provision will allow other decades-old songs enjoying similar contemporary appeal to re-enter ARIA's Singles and Albums chart, as long as they meet a few criteria.
Namely, titles can not have appeared in the top 100 for at least 10 years, and eligible music will only be considered upon request from record labels, demonstrating "sufficient activity" for placement in the top 30 or higher.
Additionally, eligible titles will only remain in the Singles and Albums charts for up to 10 weeks.
Lastly, the changes take effect after the 2025 ARIA Awards eligibility period, so this year's nominees will not be affected.
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