Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers (AARM) which was formed in 1956.[1] It oversees the collection, administration and distribution of music licences and royalties.
"ARIA" redirects here. For other uses, see ARIA (disambiguation).- ARIA (1970s–present)
- Australian Recording Industry Association (1970s–present)
1970s
The association has more than 100 members, including small labels typically run by one to five people, medium size organisations and very large companies with international affiliates. ARIA is administered by a board of directors comprising senior executives from record companies, both large and small.
History[edit]
In 1956, the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers (AARM) was formed by Australia's major record companies.[1] It was replaced in the 1970s by the Australian Recording Industry Association, which was established by the six major record companies operating in Australia, EMI (now part of Universal Music Group), Festival Records, CBS (now known as Sony Music), RCA (now part of Sony Music), WEA (now known as Warner Music Group) and Polygram (now known as Universal). It later included smaller record companies representing independent acts/labels and has over 100 members. By 1997, the six major labels provided 90% of all recordings made in Australia.[1] ARIA is administered by a board of directors comprising senior executives from record companies, both large and small.
ARIA certifications[edit]
Current Accreditation Levels[edit]
A music single or album qualifies for a platinum certification if it exceeds 70,000 copies shipped to retailers and a gold certification for 35,000 copies shipped. The diamond certification was created in November 2015 to mark 500,000 sales/shipments.[5] The diamond award includes an aggregation of sales of albums plus the sales of the tracks from that album after 1 July
2014, where 10 track sales equal one album.[6]
For music DVDs (formerly videos), a gold accreditation originally represented 7,500 copies shipped, with a platinum accreditation representing 15,000 units shipped.
Criticisms[edit]
Like most recording industry associations, ARIA has been criticised for fighting copyright infringement matters aggressively, although in Australia this has largely taken the form of aggressive advertising campaigns particularly in cinemas directly preceding movies. This criticism is stauncher in Australia due to the absence of an equivalent Digital Millennium Copyright Act or state crimes acts which clearly establish copyright infringement as a crime.
In February 2004, the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) took legal action against Kazaa, alleging massive copyright breaches. The trial began on 29 November 2004. On 6 February 2005, the homes of two Sharman Networks executives and the offices of Sharman Networks in Australia were raided under a court order by ARIA to gather evidence for the trial.
ARIA has been criticised by former Australian Idol judge and record producer Ian Dickson for a perceived intolerance of Australian Idol contestants, and a lack of nomination in the ARIA Awards.[19]
