The AIMIA Awards – a thinly disguised funding drive?

I got an email this morning advising me that the 13th Annual AIMIA Awards was now open to entries and suggesting I should enter TPN. A quick read of the terms and conditions of entry brings up this: "You must be an AIMIA Business, Corporate, Associate or Student member to enter the awards." The price to become a small business member? $660 + GST. The awards claim to be "Celebrating the very best in digital content innovation across all genres and interactive media platforms, the AIMIA Awards showcase the industry’s finest" but I’m not sure this is legitimate. I can’t afford to spend $660 on being a member. So TPN can’t even apply. I’m sure there are other Aussie internet start-ups which would find better ways to spend their $660 as well. If I’d raised Podshow-style $24 million, then perhaps I could afford it. Sounds to me like the "awards" are a thinly-disguised membership recruiting and funding drive.