Their song Love Tonight became an unexpected smash and post-pandemic anthem, charting in more than 50 countries, including becoming a Top-10 hit in France and Germany. In July and August, Love Tonight was the third-most Shazamed song in the world, with over 3 million daily plays.But Shouse’s record label Onelove says ARIA cut the group from the list of contenders after industry complaints the song was a re-release of a track first issued in 2017.“A genuine success, a fairytale involving an indie artist on an indie label has been cut down by the Australian music industry at large, and it’s a sad indictment of how antiquated sections of the industry still are,” Onelove’s general manager Ant Celestino said.“The song was eligible one minute, then not eligible the next, because some very salty individuals in the industry nitpicked the rules to their own favour — rules that aren’t in step with the modern music business,” he added.“This is a good news story, an example that you can put the hard work in and have amazing success, despite the odds, the lockdowns and restrictions that have ravaged so many careers.“This could have been a real opportunity for ARIA to celebrate … and hold a light up to true artistic diversity and new ways of doing things. Mr Celestino said Love Tonight’s slow-burn success was built on streaming, indie label determination and strong word of mouth. “Everything about this project cuts against the grain,” he said. “This is not an act that came off The Voice, got pushed into market, and was given a Eurovision song later to kick along the success. “This was a chance to celebrate something really positive and recognise new paradigms in the music industry.”Mr Celestino said Shouse — electronic music duo Ed Service and Jack Madin — are not phased by the snub, and denied it was a case of sour grapes. “We laugh about it because this reaffirms our underdog status in all this.”ARIA said the Shouse song was disqualified because it was released in 2017, re-released three years later, and remixer Guetta is not an Australian artist.ARIA said it “intentionally reviews the eligibility criteria each year, in order to ensure that it reflects the ever evolving market”.The industry association said it asks its members to “critically assess the proposed framework each year” so they can “test their intended entries against it”.It added members can raise suggestions to change voting criteria to “keep up with the times.” ARIA said Onelove did not flag its concerns about the Shouse song.
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