Winning, or even being nominated for, an ARIA award results in a lot of media attention and publicity on an artist, and usually increases recording sales several-fold, as well as chart significance – in 2005, for example, after Ben Lee won three awards, his album Awake Is the New Sleep jumped from No.

[6] Australian music journalist, Anthony O'Grady, described the fans of Uncanny X-Men, "screeching dismay and derision every time their heroes were denied a prize.

Finally, when INXS were announced Best Group and Michael Hutchence walked towards the stage, X-Men fans unfurled a 2-metre banner reading: '@*l!

Rix summarised the outcome, "the industry deserved a peer-voting Awards night and it needed to be sanctioned by" ARIA.

After several months of arguing for the change, Rix was appointed chair of "a committee to convene the inaugural ARIA Awards".

The ARIA Hall of Fame "honours Australian musicians' achievements [that] have had a significant impact in Australia or around the world".

[13][14] There were no live performances at the early ARIAs, music for both walk on/walk off was supplied by a nightclub dj, Rick Powell.

[15] Winning, or even being nominated for, an ARIA award results in a lot of media attention and publicity on an artist, and may increase recording sales several-fold, as well as chart significance – in 2005, for example, after Ben Lee won three awards, his album Awake Is the New Sleep jumped from No.

At the 1988 ceremony a fracas developed between band manager, Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and former Countdown compere, Ian "Molly" Meldrum, who was presenting.

[17] In 1995 electronic music group, Itch-E and Scratch-E, won the inaugural award for "Best Dance Release" for their single, "Sweetness and Light".

Network Ten disputed the finding; however, their basis for defence was criticised by Media Watch, demonstrating an ignorance of the rules.

I mean, the awards for the technical people are quite honest but the ones for the actual artists, basically the record companies just sit down at a meeting and decide which one of their acts are going to win this year and all, that sort of thing.

"[20] The 2010 telecast was criticised in media reports: Crikey's Neil Walker decried the "infamously shambolic Sydney Opera House fiasco",[21] The Punch's Rebekah Devlin speculated on it being the worst ever telecast, "it felt like we'd stumbled into some raging A-list party and we definitely weren't invited [...] Guests who were there said it was a great night, but it reignites the debate of what the Arias are actually all about… is it an event staged for the musicians and the people there, or is it for a TV audience?

",[22] while Daily Telegraph's Kathy McCabe felt the "underlying problem with the past two years' telecasts is they have tried to be all things to all people and do way too much" and advised that ARIA should get "professionals to do the job professionally, give them ample time to rehearse and allow them to protest when the words just don't work".

[23] In 2011 Dallas Crane's vocalist and guitarist, Dave Larkin hoped for improvement from ARIA and the telecast, "[s]o gross was last year's 'stubby-on-the-opera-house-steps' screaming match, that it still burns a brutal reflux just thinking what horrible depths our embattled industry and its unfortunate viewership plummeted to on that grievous evening of small screen hell" and felt their main flaw was that the "ARIAs never seem to take enough time or pride educating the masses on our local industry legends ...

There never seems to be enough reference or homage paid to great Aussie pop and rock trailblazers who made and continue to make Australian music what it is today".

[36][37] The ARIA award trophy, used since 1990, is a tall triangular pyramid made of solid stainless steel.

As from 2005, The Hall of Fame trophy, from the Denning design, was golden coloured metal with ARIA printed in black near the base on two sides, on the third side is the award title (ARIA ICONS: HALL OF FAME), awardee name and date printed on a plaque.