Friday 10th August 2012 For immediate release

ARIA #1 Chart Awards – honouring two years of Australian

chart-toppers

Gotye awarded Highest Selling Single and Album Awards as ARIA launches ariacharts.com.au

The Australian music industry was on song today at the The Ivy Sunroom in Sydney for the ninth ARIA #1 Chart Awards, handing out this unique award to the seventeen acts who have topped the ARIA single, album and music DVD charts across the last two years. With master of ceremonies Chit Chat expertly managing proceedings, the crowd was mesmerised as Karise Eden performed ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’, and were entertained by teen sensation Reece Mastin with his stripped back rendition of ‘Shout It Out’, both artists collecting two #1 statues across the afternoon. With some of the artists sending witty acceptance videos (thank you Bliss N Eso!), Gotye, Missy Higgins, Mirusia and Jonathon Douglass from Hillsong were also on hand to accept their Awards. Previously a feature of the annual ARIA Awards, this year the Highest Selling Single and Album Awards were incorporated into the ‘Number Ones’ event, with global success story Gotye adding two more awards to his over-flowing trophy cabinet. His single ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ featuring Kimbra and album ‘Making Mirrors’ were the biggest sellers of the 2011 calendar year, having sold in excess of ten times platinum and three times platinum respectively in Australia, capturing a vast international audience in the process. “Today’s ARIA #1 Awards were a wonderful showcase of the musical talent we have in this county across a range of genres. It highlights the affinity that Australian music fans feel towards a particular artist to propel them to the number one spot on the ARIA Charts’, said ARIA Chairman Denis Handlin AM. The Awards also saw the unveiling of the new ariacharts.com.au site. Produced by MCM Media, the fresh new site puts the chart content front and centre with over 15,000 premium quality music videos now available on the site, along with a host of new features including music news, picture galleries, concert reviews, competitions and much more. “This site has been created for music fans to indulge in their passion” says MCM Media’s CEO, Simon Joyce. “The depth of video content the site hosts not only reflects the increasing demand Australian audiences have for music video content, but makes it a truly dynamic new home for ARIA’s music charts content - one that will continue to grow and develop.” The website has been designed by Igloo, and built by Movideo, who are currently in production of the accompanying ARIA charts mobile app, which will launch later this year.

“We’re delighted with the new site and the increased scope it now has in telling the stories behind the music that’s charting in Australia. From detailed Chart information and analysis, to the latest music industry news, there is so much on this site for both music fans and the industry to enjoy.” says ARIA CEO, Dan Rosen. Major sponsor of the ARIA #1 Chart Awards was new Australian digital music streaming service, Songl, providing music fans with access to the music they love anywhere, anytime and in the way they want to hear it.

"Today's event was a celebration of the Australian music industry and the achievements of many wonderful Australian artists on the ARIA Charts over the last 24 months. The launch of Songl will occur in the next few weeks and as an Australian built digital music on demand service for Australian consumers supporting Australian artists will be a key part of our offering. Today was the first step in demonstrating our commitment to the Australian music industry and to Australian artists", said Mark Shaw, CEO of Digital Music Distribution. In the period from August 2010 to 6th August 2012, Australian acts spent 64 weeks in the #1 position across the ARIA singles, album and music DVD charts. Over this same period, 85 singles from Australian artists were awarded gold, platinum or multi-platinum status, whilst 73 individual Australian albums were accredited. The artists recognised at the 2012 ARIA #1 Chart Awards, are as follows (in chronological order): ARTIST TITLE WEEKS AT #1 LABEL SINGLES: Guy Sebastian (featuring Eve) Who’s That Girl 2 weeks SME Gotye (featuring Kimbra) Somebody That I Used To Know 8 weeks ELEV/UMA Reece Mastin Good Night 4 weeks SME Karise Eden Stay With Me Baby 1 week UMA Reece Mastin Shout It Out 1 week SME Justice Crew Boom Boom 1 week SME ALBUMS: Bliss N Eso Running On Air 1 week LIB/UMA Drapht The Life Of Riley 1 week SME Gotye Making Mirrors 1 week ELEV/UMA Hilltop Hoods Drinking From The Sun 2 weeks GE/UMA Keith Urban The Story So Far 1 week EMI The Temper Trap The Temper Trap 1 week LIB/UMA Missy Higgins The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle 2 weeks ELEV/UMA Karise Eden My Journey 6 weeks UMA MUSIC DVDS: Hilltop Hoods Parade Of The Dead 1 week GE/UMA Powderfinger Sunsets Farewell Tour 7 weeks UMA The Wiggles Ukulele Baby! 3 weeks ROA Mirusia (featuring Andre Rieu) Always And Forever 4 weeks UMA AC/DC Live At River Plate 15 weeks ALB/SME Hillsong Live God Is Able 1 week HMA/SME Parkway Drive Home Is For The Heartless 1 week SHK www.ariacharts.com.au www.aria.com.au facebook.com/Aria.Official twitter.com/aria_official For further information and media enquiries please contact: Revolutions Per Minute Nicole Hart Ph: 0418 324 312 Email: nicole@revolutions.com.au For information regarding Songl, please contact: Burson-Marsteller Australia Alex Churcher Ph: 02 9928 1585 Email: alex.churcher@bm.com