How ARIA Plans to Promote New Music With Major Chart Changes

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has announced a major overhaul to its official chart methodology, marking one of the biggest updates in the organization’s history.

Beginning Sept. 1, 2025, ARIA’s Main Charts for singles and albums—as well as its Australian Artist Singles and Albums Charts—will only feature music released in the past two years. Titles older than that will be moved to a new dedicated catalogue chart, ARIA On Replay.

The changes, announced June 24 and following more than 12 months of modeling and industry consultation, aim to increase visibility for new music—especially Australian releases—and inject greater movement into the charts.

In a briefing to industry and media, ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd described the move as a “simple” but necessary response to industry concerns that the charts had become stagnant, especially in the albums category. “It will open up space in all the charts for new music and new Australian music,” Herd said. “What we think we’re doing is giving more information to artists, to industry and people who are listening to new music and older music.”

The new ARIA On Replay chart will track the performance of catalogue titles—defined as those released more than two years prior. However, older tracks can re-enter the Main Charts under strict conditions: the track must not have appeared in the Top 100 for at least 10 years, be supported by a formal label request, and accumulate enough activity to chart in the Top 30. Any eligible re-entry will be allowed to remain on the Main Charts for a maximum of 10 weeks.

The changes are designed to align ARIA’s methodology with international best practices, following an extensive benchmarking process with organizations in the U.K., U.S., and New Zealand, and consultation with the IFPI. According to Herd, the revamped system aims to “get Australian artists the best deal from the charts.”

The decision to restructure the charts comes after a disappointing year-end result for domestic acts. No Australian releases appeared in the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart in the most recent update, and just five local albums—including the top two—featured in the albums tally.

This overhaul is ARIA’s most dramatic structural change since the integration of streaming data in 2014 and the subsequent weighting adjustments made to reflect evolving consumption patterns. The shift to a two-year eligibility window is expected to bring more turnover and better highlight emerging talent.

An ARIA Talks session was hosted on June 24 at Sydney’s Ace Hotel to explain the new system and address industry queries. The updated methodology will take effect after the close of the ARIA Awards eligibility period, ensuring no disruption to the 2025 awards cycle.

“More exposure for Australian artists. More movement. That’s what this is about,” Herd said.

For more information and ongoing updates, visit aria.com.au.