ARIA Hall of Fame

Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremony ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame event as only one or two acts could be inducted under the old format due to time restrictions. Since 2005 VH1 obtained the rights to broadcast the show live on Foxtel, Austar and Optus networks; and each year five or six acts were inducted into the Hall of Fame with an additional act inducted at the following ARIA Music Awards. At the 1 July 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony, held at the Melbourne Town Hall, ARIA stated that the Hall of Fame ceremony would be completely separate from the ARIA Music Awards – there would be no additional inductees at the latter ceremony. ARIA had opened the Hall of Fame ceremony to the general public for the first time, and ARIA president Ed St John announced that a new annual exhibition, at the Melbourne Arts Centre from November, would showcase memorabilia honouring the Hall of Fame inductees. In 2011, the ceremony returned to the general ARIA Music Awards with two new inductees.