ARIA Awards Announce Last-minute New Category

The ARIA Awards have announced a last-minute new category: Our Soundtrack Our Ads. The award comes in partnership with Our Soundtrack Our Stories and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

Our Soundtrack Our Ads is an extension of the existing Out Soundtrack Our Stories award introduced in 2021 to promote the use of Australian music across the media landscape, including radio and television.

Our Soundtrack Our Ads summons the Australian creative and advertising industries to promise support for local voices, sounds and stories. By investing in homegrown artists, the new award gains eligibility. 

This time last year, Jack River used her platform to issue an urgent call to arms for local media and businesses to promote homegrown music that evolved into an open invitation from the music community to discover, champion, share and consume more local music in both a commercial and mainstream landscape. 

About Our Soundtrack Our Ads, River noted, "Our Soundtrack Our Ads is an exciting opportunity for brands, creatives and the music industry to unite with a common goal of championing local music and local storytelling. 

"We have such amazing talent here in our backyard, so getting to hear new and upcoming voices across more commercials, social media campaigns, and creative content is exciting for the next generation of artists, brands and music lovers alike."

Annabelle Herd, the ARIA CEO, shared, "Advertising has such an important role in impacting change across society. It creates ideas and tells stories that leave an important mark on culture. Music is no different. I'm thrilled to celebrate talent and creativity across the two industries with this first-of-its-kind award in 2023. 

"With the support and influence of Australia's advertising industry, we can continue to create opportunities for Australian music to be heard in all its forms by all who create it. Australia already has many internationally-acclaimed artists who have featured in successful campaigns across the world; it's time to recognise that on our own shores and soundtrack Australian lives with Australian music."

Saynaree Oudomvilay, PR & Communications Senior Account Director at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, also pledged support for local music. "In our line of work, we get the privilege to work on some of the country's biggest and most loved brands, and we all work so hard at what we do to produce world-class advertisements, content and campaigns that entertain and influence Australians," Oudomvilay said.

"We formed Our Soundtrack Our Ads to give the industry an opportunity to commit to investing its stock music budgets to up-and-coming champion artists and show our support for the future of Australian musicians and artists."

Brands, creatives, and agencies can find more information about submitting to the initiative here.