MELBOURNE, Australia — Just months after the 2024 Music Victoria Awards were confirmed to have been targeted in an egregious occurrence of voter fraud, organizers have made the decision to suspend the 2025 event.
The 2024 edition of the awards – which seeks to honor and recognize the talents of musicians in the Australian state of Victoria – was held in Melbourne on Oct. 24, though it was later announced on Nov. 27 that an “unknown assailant/s” had targeted the voting process and manipulated several of the publicly-voted categories.
In a statement, Music Victoria, the trade body that produces the annual ceremony, explained they had become aware of “unusual activity within the third-party voting system used for the public voted categories.”
Following a thorough internal investigation, and liaisons with “the third-party voting system Award Force, cyber security experts and legal advice,” it was discovered that “thousands of misregistered votes” had been “falsely attributed to nominees, resulting in a change to the recipients of five of the six publicly voted categories.”
As a result of the discovery, the rightful winners were later reinstated and Music Victoria insisted it will “carve out space” in the 2025 ceremony to “present the winners in front of our industry.”
However, a statement issued by Music Victoria on Wednesday (April 16) has now confirmed the awards will in fact be suspended for 2025.
“This decision comes after careful reflection, consultation, valuable feedback and learnings over the last 18 months,” the statement read. “The organisation believes this is the right time and opportunity for Music Victoria to reassess and reimagine the Music Victoria Awards, ensuring they are reflective of and aligned with Victoria’s diverse music community while operating in a financially sustainable manner.
“Music Victoria remains deeply committed to its mission of providing a valuable platform for artists and industry and looks forward to engaging with stakeholders – working together to uncover new ways to celebrate and support Victorian music meaningfully.”
Music Victoria CEO Fiona Duncan also issued a statement, noting, “this short-term action gives us the opportunity to set up the Music Victoria Awards for a robust and sustainable long-term future.”
“We need to take one step back to allow leaps forward,” Duncan added. “We look forward to collaborating closely with our community to shape this next chapter to celebrate the depths of talent we have in Victoria. We appreciate your understanding and continued support as we evolve through these changes.”
The Music Victoria Awards were originally launched in 2006 as the EG Music Awards, as a means to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Melbourne newspaper The Age’s long-running entertainment guide. Initially a retrospective ceremony, the focus shifted in the ensuing years to reflect the annual performance of musicians from Victoria.
The 2024 edition of the Music Victoria Awards saw names such as Angie McMahon, Gut Health, and Maple Glider, recognized for best album, best group, and best solo artist, respectively.
