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.

Smokey Robinson’s former housekeepers say they had the right to hold a press conference publicizing an explosive rape lawsuit against the Motown legend and are asking a judge to toss defamation counterclaims in the contentious legal proceedings.

A motion filed Friday (June 20) takes issue with the countersuit Robinson filed after four anonymous former housekeepers brought a $50 million civil lawsuit accusing the 85-year-old singer of a yearslong pattern of sexual assault.

Robinson and his wife, who’s also named as a defendant in the housekeepers’ case, said the rape allegations are fabricated and defamatory. While claims in legal filings are typically shielded from defamation lawsuits by the First Amendment, the Robinsons argued the accusers stepped outside these protections when they “paraded themselves in front of the media” with a press conference the day the lawsuit was filed.

The housekeepers’ lawyers disagree. In Friday’s motion to strike the counterclaims, attorneys for the accusers say their press conference was actually covered by the so-called litigation privilege and therefore cannot be the subject of defamation claims.

“The statements underlying the Robinsons’ claims, delivered by counsel for Jane Does during a press conference, concern a pending civil lawsuit involving serious allegations of sexual misconduct and are explicitly tied to that litigation,” write lawyers John Harris and Herbert Hayden. “The Robinsons’ cross-complaint is entirely without merit and appears to be a retaliatory and improper effort to chill the Jane Does’ right to speak out and to access the courts.”

Friday’s motion also criticizes the Robinsons for trying to “mislead” the court by including only partial quotations from the press conference in their countersuit, including a reference to Harris calling Robinson a “serial and sick rapist.” The housekeepers’ attorneys say Harris actually said, “We believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist” — an important qualifier that couches this statement as an opinion and not a fact.

The housekeepers are asking a Los Angeles judge to strike the counterclaims under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which clears the way for quick dismissal of defamation claims that threaten free speech. Under this law, the accusers can also make the Robinsons reimburse their legal fees if they win the anti-SLAPP motion.

The Robinsons’ attorney, Christopher Frost, said in a statement to Billboard on Monday (June 23) that Friday’s motion is “all just procedural posturing.”

“While the law may allow them to make false and slanderous allegations in a complaint with impunity, it does not allow them to orchestrate a press conference to regurgitate the same lies,” said Frost.

Frost said the housekeepers’ “transparent motivation” is to use the anti-SLAPP motion as a tactic to slow down the litigation, echoing allegations in his own court filing last week that accused the women of trying to delay the discovery process.

“It is puzzling to us why they would want to do so if they really believed in their case,” added Frost.

Slick Rick delivered his first album in 26 years with VICTORY earlier in June, and The Ruler returned with a cinematic accompanying short film to the project on Friday (June 20).

Directed by Meji Alabi, Rick’s short film serves as a companion to his album and features appearances from Nas, Giggs and Idris Elba, who executive produced the project. Legendary photographer Jonathan Mannion also helped craft the film’s aesthetic while Young Guru mixed the LP.

“VICTORY is a tale of fiction for the mind. Part myth. Part Magic. Grab your snacks… And a cozy blanket and pretend you’re by a fireplace,” Slick Rick said in a statement. “VICTORY is sight, story, and sound dancing as one.”

The short film gives fans a look into Slick Rick’s innovative storytelling and age-defying imagination with each scene more powerful than the next, while providing a cinematic visual companion to the album.

“Collaborating with Slick Rick The Ruler on his first album in 26 years was incredible,” added director Meji Alabi. “Being able to create visuals to such a monumental piece and with a storyteller and icon like Slick Rick was an experience I’m going to cherish forever and can’t wait for the world to see what he has in store for them.”

Even at 60 years old, Slick Rick’s ingenuity remains timeless while delivering hard-hitting bars over an array of beats ranging from boom bap to dance.

Recorded in London and France, VICTORY was four years in the making for The Ruler, while the visuals were shot in the United States, U.K. and Africa.

Watch the short film below.

Kneecap’s Glastonbury Festival set is now at the center of a political firestorm, with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly opposing the Northern Irish hip-hop trio’s appearance following terrorism charges against member Mo Chara.

In comments published by The Sun, Starmer said he does not believe Kneecap should perform at the iconic festival on June 28. “No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this,” he said. “This is about the threats that shouldn’t be made. I won’t say too much because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

Mo Chara, born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was last month charged with a terrorism offense by London’s Metropolitan Police after being investigated for allegedly showing support for militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in historic videos. Both are proscribed as terror groups according to U.K. law, and considered an offense under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Kneecap have denied the allegations, calling the charges a “carnival of distraction” in a statement posted to social media. “We deny this ‘offense’ and will vehemently defend ourselves,” the group said. They added, “British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with ‘terrorism’ for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win.”

The posters, in Irish flag colors, read “More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, Mo Chara” — a provocative reference to anti-Irish and anti-immigrant signage once common in the U.K.

Kneecap’s growing notoriety has drawn attention beyond the courtroom. At Coachella earlier this year, the trio accused organizers of censoring their pro-Palestine messaging during the livestream. They were recently removed from Scotland’s TRNSMT festival due to “police safety concerns,” but their Glastonbury performance remains on the lineup — and the BBC is still planning to air it live.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch joined Starmer in criticizing the group, also taking aim at the BBC. “As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism,” she wrote on social media.

Kneecap, whose debut album Fine Art was released in 2024, have built a reputation for blending satire, politics and Irish identity into a brash hip-hop sound. The controversy around their appearance has turned what might have been a standard festival set into one of Glastonbury’s most politically charged moments in years.