Spotify and the ARIA Awards Mark a New Era for Australian Music
This year’s ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards’ nearly 40-year history, we stepped onto center stage as presenting partner, kicking off a new three-year commitment to Australia’s biggest celebration of local music.
“Spotify is proud to partner with the ARIA Awards to champion artists who are shaping culture at home and finding passionate audiences around the world,” said Mikaela Lancaster, Spotify’s Managing Director for Australia & New Zealand. “Australian stories have never traveled further (or faster), and we’re committed to helping them be heard in even more places.”
A new award for a new era
The 2025 ARIA Awards week had renewed energy, with Spotify introducing the Global Impact Award—an extension of the Spotify Global Impact List, first launched in Australia—to celebrate local artists making waves on the world stage.
Fans also played a bigger role than ever. For the first time, they could vote for their favorite artists inside the Spotify app, with over 250,000 votes cast in support of homegrown talent. The ARIA hub offered a dedicated space on Spotify to discover nominees.
Party first, awards after
The celebrations kicked off with the first-ever Spotify Artist Party on November 17 at Sydney’s historic Cell Block Theatre. Global superstar The Kid LAROI made a triumphant homecoming with a powerhouse set, joined by Sydney drill group ONEFOUR for a surprise performance of “Distant Strangers.”
The night also saw pop-up sets from ARIA nominees Sons of the East and Taylor Moss, with Young Franco keeping the energy high on the decks.
“Australian music is having a massive global moment right now,” said The Kid LAROI. “It’s so cool to be part of that!”
A night of big wins
When the lights came up at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on the night of November 19, Dom Dolla took home the inaugural Global Impact Award, honoring his chart-topping international influence. Dom has amassed over 1.5 billion Spotify streams globally, including over 450 million this year.
“Dom’s success shows just how far Australian music has come—and how far it can go,” said Sulinna Ong, Spotify’s Global Head of Editorial, who was in attendance at the awards. “Artists like him are shaping global sounds while staying true to their roots, and that’s exactly the kind of discovery we love to champion on Spotify.”
The celebrations continued with wins across genres. Electronic artist and former EQUAL ambassador Ninajirachi picked up three ARIA Awards, including the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist presented by Spotify. She’s notched 28 million global streams this year, with tracks added to 1.5 million listener playlists and support from 153 Spotify editorial playlists.
Amyl and the Sniffers topped the winner’s list with four ARIAs, including Album of the Year for Cartoon Darkness. Their music has been featured on 31 Spotify editorial playlists and streamed 105 million times globally in the past year.
Artist Party headliner The Kid LAROI also took home an ARIA, winning the people’s vote for Song of the Year with his single “GIRLS.”
Celebrating ambition and global reach
Spotify leadership joined the celebrations throughout the week, reflecting on the global momentum for Australian artists.
SVP of Markets & Subscriptions Gustav Gyllenhammar said, “The energy around Australian music right now is incredible. You can feel its global momentum, and that’s exactly the kind of creative ecosystem Spotify loves to help power.”
Joe Hadley, Global Head of Artist Partnerships, added, “Our focus has always been on giving artists more ways to grow their audiences. Seeing so many Australian acts breaking internationally is proof that those connections are working.”
The ARIAs capped off a week celebrating the ambition and creativity that’s pushing Australian music forward, with homegrown impact and global reach on full display.
Check the ARIA Awards website for the list of winners, then stream Spotify’s Best of ARIA Awards playlist to celebrate Australian music at its finest.
