Rapper Tasman Keith Calls Out The ARIA Awards For Judging Charts, Not Art

Australian rapper and singer-songwriter Tasman Keith says the ARIA Awards should be judged on art, not charts.

The 26-year-old artist posted a lengthy explainer on social media about how the ARIA Awards are not based on merit; they’re based on sales this week.  

Keith opens his statement with, "A Colour Undone does not meet the voting criteria for Best Hip Hop Release or Album of The Year. The criteria is still structured mainly around a system which upweights physical formats and downloads. Not streams."

"My validation doesn't come from an outdated award platform held up by privileged white record executives whose entire purpose is to sell our stories while keeping majority of the profits," he continues.

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd joined The Briefing to explain why those claims are not quite right, but the awards could do more to acknowledge artists who fly under the radar.  

Adding to the conversation ARIA judge and music journo Sosefina Fuamoli told The Briefing that the awards probably don’t adequately recognise artists who don’t have big record company backing.

“Artists should have the same opportunity in these moments as those with the big budget,” Tasman Keith tweeted. “Judge the art, not the chart.”

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