Independent sector highlighted at last night’s ARIAs

The strength of Australian industry's independent sector was highlighted at the nation's biggest night of music with Future Classic, Inertia, Mushroom Group, Chugg Music, Jarrah Records and Vicious Recordings all achieve big wins last night.

Sia (Inertia) and Chet Faker (Future Classic) were the big winners at Sydney's The Star, with Sia picking up four awards for Album of the Year, Best Pop Release, Best Female Artist and Best Video, and Faker aka Nick Murphy taking out Best Independent Release and Best Male Artist.

Mushroom Group sub-label - Johann Ponniah's I Oh You - saw its artist DZ Deathrays beat The Amity Affliction, Shihad, Sleepmakeswaves and High Tension for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album with their LP Black Rat. Liberation, formed in 1999 by Mushroom Group saw its act Dan Sultan take out the ARIA for Best Rock Album with his LP Blackbird. 

Michael Chugg knew he was on to a good thing when he signed Brisbane's Sheppard to his Chugg Music last year. The band were nominated for seven ARIAs and took out the award for Best Group.

Canberra duo Peking Duk may have just inked a worldwide deal with Sony Music and RCA Records, but the band's longtime label Vicious Recordings had a major win last night when the pair's track High, featuring Nicole Millar took out Best Dance Release.

John Butler's own Jarrah Records has sold over 800,000 CDs in Australia. His John Butler Trio have just returned from a US tour and last night won the ARIA for Best Blues And Roots Album for their latest LP Flesh & Blood.

EMI took out one of the night's most coveted awards; 5 Seconds of Summer, who opened the ceremony at The Star in Sydney with a performance of Billboard #1 She Looks So Perfect, took out the ARIA for Song of The Year for the aforementioned track. The Sydney band's biggest international champions, UK's One Direction (Sony/Syco), also performed before taking out the ARIA for Best International Act.

The red carpet and ceremony were broadcast on Channel Ten but didn't top the night's ratings. Big Brother's grand final beat the ARIAs, drawing 737,000 viewers. The ARIAs broadcast drew 574,000 viewers on average, whilst the red carpet segment had 602,000 viewers from 7.30pm. It's an increase on last year's ratings though, the 2013 ARIAs were broadcast on Nine's digital Go channel and drew 337,000.

ARIA Awards 2014 Winners

Album Of The Year
Winner: Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear (Inertia Recordings)
Chet Faker - Built On Glass (Future Classic)
Dan Sultan - Blackbird (Liberation Music)
Jessica Mauboy - Beautiful (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)
Sheppard - Bombs Away (Empire of Song/Chugg Music/MGM Distribution)

Best Independent Release

Winner: Chet Faker - Built On Glass (Future Classic)

Dan Sultan - Blackbird (Liberation Music)

Sheppard - Bombs Away (Empire of Song/Chugg Music/MGM Distribution)

Vance Joy - Mess Is Mine (Liberation Music)

Violent Soho - Saramona Said (I Oh You/Illusive/UMA)

Best Male Artist

Winner: Chet Faker - Built On Glass (Future Classic)

Dan Sultan - Blackbird (Liberation Music)

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Gurrumul and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra: His Life And Music (ABC Music/UMA)

Guy Sebastian - Come Home With Me (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Vance Joy - Mess Is Mine (Liberation Music)

Best Adult Contemporary Album

Winner: Neil Finn & Paul Kelly - Goin' Your Way (EMI)

Gossling - Harvest Of Gold (Dew Process)

Kate Miller - Heidke - O Vertigo! (Cooking Vinyl Australia)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Live From KCRW (Kobalt Label Services)

Tina Arena - Reset (EMI)

Best Dance Release:

Winner: Peking Duk feat. Nicole Millar - High (Vicious Bitch/Universal)

Flume & Chet Faker - Drop The Game (Future Classic)

Nicky Night Time - Everybody Together (ONELOVE/Xelon)

RÜFÜS - Sundream (Sweat It Out/Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

The Presets - No Fun (Modular/Universal)

Best Female Artist

Winner: Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear (Inertia Recordings)

Adalita - All Day Venus (Liberation Music)

Iggy Azalea - The New Classic (Virgin/Universal Music Australia)

Jessica Mauboy - Beautiful (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Kasey Chambers - Bittersweet (Essence Group)

Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album

Winner: DZ Deathrays - Black Rat (I Oh You/Illusive/UMA)

High Tension - Death Beat (Cooking Vinyl Australia)

Shihad - FVEY (Warner Music NZ)

Sleepmakeswaves - Love Of Cartography (Bird's Robe Records/MGM)

The Amity Affliction - Let the Ocean Take Me (Roadrunner Records Inc)

Best Pop Release

Winner: Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear (Inertia Recordings)

5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer (EMI)

Andy Bull - Sea Of Approval (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

Justice Crew - Que Sera (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Sheppard - Bombs Away (Empire of Song/Chugg Music/MGM Distribution)

Best Rock Album

Winner: Dan Sultan - Blackbird (Liberation Music)

Angus & Julia Stone - Angus & Julia Stone (EMI)

Ball Park Music - Puddinghead (Stop Start Music)

Jimmy Barnes - 30:30 Hindsight (Liberation Music)

Kingswood - Microscopic Wars (Dew Process)

Best Urban Album

Winner: Hilltop Hoods - Walking Under Stars (Golden Era Records/Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

360 - Utopia (Forthwrite/EMI)

Iggy Azalea - The New Classic (Virgin/Universal Music Australia)

Illy - Cinematic (Warner Music Australia)

Thundamentals - So We Can Remember (Obese Records)

Best Blues And Roots Album

Winner: John Butler Trio - Flesh & Blood (Jarrah Records/MGM)

Harry Hookey - Misdiagnosed (Essence Group)

Russell Morris - Van Diemen's Land (Fanfare Records/EMI)

The Audreys - 'Til My Tears Roll Away (ABC Music/UMA)

The Bamboos - Fever In The Road (Pacific Theatre/Inertia)

Breakthrough Artist

Winner: Iggy Azalea - The New Classic (Virgin/Universal Music Australia)

5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer (Capitol/EMI)

Andy Bull - Sea Of Approval (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

Chet Faker - Built On Glass (Future Classic)

The Kite String Tangle - Vessel EP (Warner Music Australia)

Best Group

Winner: Sheppard - Bombs Away (Empire of Song/Chugg Music)

5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer (EMI)

Hilltop Hoods - Walking Under Stars (Golden Era Records/Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

RUFUS - Sundream (Sweat It Out/Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Violent Soho - Saramona Said (I Oh You/Illusive/UMA)

ARIA Hall Of Fame

Molly Meldrum and Countdown

ARIA Industry Icon Award

Denis Hadlin

Publicly Voted Awards:

Best Video
Winner: Sia Furler and Daniel Askill for Sia - Chandelier (Inertia Recordings)
Ben Young for John Butler Trio - Only One (Jarrah Records/MGM)
Charlie Ford for Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener (Milk! Records/Inertia)
Dan Graetz for Violent Soho - Covered In Chrome (I Oh You/Illusive/UMA)
Lawrence Lim for Jessica Mauboy - Never Be The Same (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)
Lawrence Lim for Justice Crew - Que Sera (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)
Renny Wijeyamohan for Busby Marou - My Second Mistake (Warner Music Australia)
Christian J Henrich & Nicholas Rabone for Bluejuice - SOS (Dew Process)
Toby &Pete for Chet Faker - Talk Is Cheap (Future Classic)
Toby Morris for Sheppard - Geronimo (Empire of Song/Chugg Music/MGM Distribution)

Best Australian Live Act

Winner: Keith Urban (EMI)

Boy & Bear (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

Dan Sultan (Liberation Music)

John Butler Trio (Jarrah Records/MGM)

Melbourne SKA Orchestra (ABC Music/UMA)

RUFUS (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Tame Impala (Universal Music Australia)

The Preatures (Mercury Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

The Presets (Modular/Universal)

Violent Soho (I Oh You/Illusive/UMA)

Best International Artist

Winner: One Direction - Midnight Memories (Syco Music)

Avicii - True (PM:AM/Universal Music Australia)

Beyonce - Beyonce (Columbia)

Coldplay - Ghost Stories (Parlophone)

Ed Sheeran - X (Atlantic UK)

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP2 (Interscope Geffen/Universal Music Australia)

Jason Derulo - Tattoos (Warner Bros US)

Katy Perry - Prism (EMI)

Lorde - Pure Heroine (Universal Music NZ/Universal Music Australia)

Pharrell Williams - G I R L (Columbia)

Song of the Year

Winner: 5 Seconds of Summer - She Looks So Perfect (EMI)

Guy Sebastian - Like A Drum (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Havana Brown - Warrior (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)

Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Fancy (Virgin/Universal Music Australia)

Joel Fletcher feat. Savage - Swing (Hustle Recordings/Ministry of Sound)

Justice Crew - Que Sera (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Nathaniel - You (DNA Songs/Sony Music Entertainment Australia)

Sheppard - Geronimo (Empire of Song/Chugg Music/MGM Distribution)

Sia - Chandelier (Inertia Recordings)

Taylor Henderson - Borrow My Heart (Sony Music Entertainment Australia)