The Irony of Those Blasting Missy Higgins’ Hall of Fame Induction (OPINION)

The Australian music industry is in a purple patch right now. Following a ten-month dry spell on the ARIA Albums chart we have had a three-week run of Australian artists topping the local chart: Lime Cordiale, Tones And I, and our most recent chart-topper Amy Shark.

Say what you like about ARIA’s chart weighting system, but this is a time to rejoice. 

And yet… there is one particular ARIA-related dialogue — taking place in a keyboard warrior comment section on social media by a small few — that is as dark as it is illuminating.

A few industry players, some surprising, some not at all, have taken issue with Missy Higgins’ induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame this November.

The overarching consensus of the comments is thus: Missy Higgins, and recent inductees Kasey Chambers and Jet, are midway through their careers and therefore should be inducted more towards their end. 

And yet… where was this opinion at this time last year, when Jet’s induction was announced? Where was this documented outrage against Kasey Chambers when she was honoured in 2019? Why now?

I take issue with the inconsistency on this issue and given the overt criticism of ARIA ever since Annabelle Herd took over as CEO, I wonder if we’re actually dealing with something more sinister here.

I find it ironic that the people who deem themselves watchdogs holding power to account, are actually engaging with an oppressive diatribe.

Let’s break this down.

While it pains me to ever mention an artist’s age due to the symbolic annihilation that I’ve seen occur for women over 40 — I even pledged to never include ages in my reporting in this op-ed — age is important here.

Missy Higgins is 41, she released her seminal record The Sound of White 20 years ago, and has continued to impact culture and add beautiful colour to the patchwork of our industry ever since. 

The argument to say she isn’t deserving at this point in her career would be palatable if it was simply tied to the fact that she’s far from being ‘done’ in music. What’s most disappointing however, is just how many Hall of Fame-inductees were either younger than Missy Higgins or also considered ‘mid-career’ at the time of induction.

Actually, here’s a list to prove my point:

• Angus Young of AC/DC, aged 33 at time of induction
• Jimmy Barnes with Cold Chisel, aged 37 at time of induction
• Phil Burton of Human Nature, aged 42 at time of induction
• Paul Kelly, aged 42 at time of induction
• Kylie Minogue, aged 43 at time of induction
• James Reyne of Australian Crawl, aged 39 at time of induction
• Kasey Chambers, aged 42 at time of induction
• Jet, aged between 42-44 at time of induction
• Greg Page, AKA the Yellow Wiggle from The Wiggles, aged 39 at time of induction

Of the aforementioned nine examples, seven are male. 

On to my next point. Let’s be gracious here and say the pushback against a young female artist being inducted into the Hall of Fame has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with thinking the criteria has not been met with the choice of Missy Higgins.

Below is what the ARIA Board refers to when determining inductees to the ARIA Hall of Fame:

• The ARIA Hall of Fame recognises all categories of recorded music;
• The nominees’ careers must have commenced, and ideally achieved significant prominence, at least 20 years prior to the year of proposed induction;
• Membership into the ARIA Hall of Fame is reserved exclusively for the creators of recorded music – the writers, the recording artists, and in some cases, the producers;
• The nominees must be responsible for a significant body of recorded work;
• The nominees work to have had a cultural impact within Australia and/or recognition within the world marketplace.

The last criterion is perhaps the most significant and Missy Higgins is clearly deserving of this kind of recognition right now, this year — I’ll go more into this later.

Higgins is an artist who has achieved three number one albums, another three Top 3 albums, a particularly Australian sound that managed to export itself into one of the toughest markets to crack, America, and consistent ticket sales that place her in the top tier of touring Australian acts. 

It should be noted that she’s on course to sell 100,000 tickets on her current national Sound of White Tour; all without any commercial radio play for her new singles.

Her influence on music is not just profit-oriented and accolade-accruing, it’s generational.

In 2018, Declan Byrne wrote a brilliant piece titled: The generation of artists inspired by Missy Higgins. He noted that acts like Amy Shark, Odette, Gordi, Gretta Ray and Alice Skyeall were influenced not just by her music, but the refreshing way in which she navigated the music industry.

“You’d have a hard time finding an artist that has had a bigger impact on the current crop of Australian female artists than Missy Higgins,” he wrote.

Former Group Music Director of the triple j Networks, Richard Kingsmill, said once:

“The incredible success of The Sound Of White was not just in its sales figures, as impressive as they were. Missy Higgins was something bigger. With her talent, honesty and unapologetic Australianness, she was a signpost for so many artists that followed. 

“The number of local singers and songwriters I’ve interviewed over time who have told me that Missy, and especially that debut album, was the reason they picked up an instrument and started singing in the first place is mind-boggling. Her success crosses the gender divide too. We’ve had plenty of male rock groups in our Like A Version studio wanting to cover Missy songs. Dear Seattle’s cover of ‘The Special Two’ for instance made it into the Hottest 100 of Like A Version this year.

“So Missy inspired that next generation of artists in a way you don’t see very often. And she’s kept showing music fans that it wasn’t just a time-and-place success story either through the other releases that have come for her over the past 20 years.”

Which brings me to my point on why this year needs to be the year for Higgins’ induction. If 41 years old is too young to be inducted, why is it clearly considered too old to be played on radio and playlisted by streaming services? This dichotomous position is exactly why now is the time to acknowledge the artists — like Higgins, like Kasey Chambers — who are impacting culture and selling tickets without the benefit of exposure on major platforms.

To those who engaged in the unhelpful attack on what should be a banner year for one of Australia’s most beloved artists: why now? 

Is it a desire to remain relevant in the industry’s eye? Is it because you don’t understand the appeal of Missy Higgins? Is it because you’re upset that Silverchair have publicly said they don’t want to be inducted due to tumultuous in-fighting?

None of the above is Higgins’ fault. Neither is the marking criteria, which is, hopefully, the true crux of your detractions. 

It pains me to think of Missy Higgins paying any mind to these few detractors. But the Missy I know would shrug it off. She’ll take the ARIA Awards stage in November and with the adorable humility she’s so well known for, will match the appreciation she’s been given with her own speech of gratitude. Not just for those who helped her along the way, but for those who are just as excited for her next 20 years as an adored contributor to culture.

She would also probably love this 2013 tweet from Ricky Gervais: “Trolls don’t hate you. They hate themselves. They’re in pain & you getting upset is like their morphine. Don’t administer. Enjoy the screams”.