The ARIA Awards will stream on YouTube in November and introduce new Best Artist trophy

The 2021 ARIA Awards show will get a radical overhaul of awards as organisers do away with gender-based gongs.

The 2021 ARIA Awards show will go on.

While the Logies have cancelled their annual celebration of television, the music industry’s big night will be a streaming-only affair on YouTube, both in Australia and to the world.

And for the first time, the awards have merged the gender categories of Best Female and Male Artists into one Best Artist category in line with American events such as the Grammys and MTV VMAs.

The category will feature 10 nominees rather than shrink the field to five as featured in the old gender-based awards.

Tones and I was part of the star-studded I Am Woman tribute to Helen Reddy at last year’s ARIAs. Picture: Getty

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said “the time for separating artists based on gendered categories that exclude non-binary artists altogether has passed.”

“There are artists, including artists who have charted at No. 1 in the past year, who don’t identify as male or female,” Ms Herd said.

“We wanted to put everyone on equal footing for an award, as they should be.

“What we didn’t want to do in making that change was recognise fewer artists.”

The awards have been televised on free-to-air channels since 1992 but the uncertainty around border closures or being able to have an in-person event on November 25 in Sydney forced the ARIA board to move online.

YouTube streamed the awards to the world last year and hosts the videos of the performances on its platform afterwards.

Last year’s star-studded tribute to Helen Reddy, starring Tones and I, Delta Goodrem, Marcia Hines, Jessica Mauboy, Kate Ceberano, The McClymonts, Emma Watkins and more continues to tick over thousands of views.

Sydney rapper Masked Wolf smashed it on the world stage this year. Picture: Supplied / Warner

Despite the pandemic shutdown of concerts, Australian artists have punched above their weight over the past 12 months both at home and overseas.

The Kid Laroi, Masked Wolf, Kylie Minogue and Keith Urban are among those who have featured on charts around the world.

There were 18 Australian records which claimed the No. 1 summit on the ARIA album charts over the past 12 months from AC/DC and Midnight Oil’s comebacks to songs from Bluey and the debut solo release from 5 Seconds of Summer frontman Luke Hemmings.

The Kid Laroi made his awards debut at the MTV VMAs but you can bet on him performing for the ARIAs. Picture: Getty.

All of those artists are eligible for nomination for the 2021 ARIAs plus popular singles and albums from Jimmy Barnes, The Avalanches, Guy Sebastian, Tash Sultana, Amy Shark, You Am I and The Rubens.

ARIA’s first female chair Natalie Waller, who runs ABC Music, said it was “vital” the show go on this year to pay tribute to the “determination, resilience and achievements within the music community during this very challenging period.”

The Avalanches are short odds to pick up 2021 ARIA nominations. Picture: Supplied. Grant Spanier

“The Australian music industry has been a beacon of light for many of us for almost

two years now, we are delighted to be bringing this year’s event to people in a different format,” she said.

What the 2021 ARIA Awards will look like as a streaming event remains top secret for now.

But the innovative broadcast will also open up the coveted performance slots to Australian artists based overseas including global pop prince The Kid Laroi.

The nominations for the awards will mostly dictate which artists get to perform and they will be revealed on YouTube next month.

Originally published as The ARIA Awards will stream on YouTube in November and introduce new Best Artist trophy