YOUTUBE PAYS $8 BILLION TO MUSIC BIZ
YouTube paid US$8 billion (AU$12.28 billion) to the music industry over the past year, according to its Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen, who revealed the figure at a music industry conference in Miami. The payment combines ad revenue and subscription fees, marking a significant increase from the $2 billion YouTube reported in 2022.
By comparison, Spotify claimed it paid out a record $10 billion worldwide in 2024, while telling an Australian parliamentary inquiry in 2023 that royalties generated by Australian artists reached nearly AU$275 million.
YouTube has 2.49 billion users globally, including 125 million subscribers to YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. In Australia, the platform has 20.80 million users, second only to Meta. YouTube’s worldwide ad revenue for Q2 2025 reached $9.8 billion, a 13% year-on-year increase.
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COMMUNITY RADIO AIRPLAY CHART SOUNDS IN
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) has launched the Community Radio Airplay Charts, tracking music receiving national airplay each week. Available at amrap.org.au, the chart highlights the role community radio plays in discovering and supporting Australian music. CBAA data shows AMRAP tracked 250,000 plays of Australian music on community radio between October 2024 and May 2025.
The December 2024 Community Radio Listener Survey found that 60% of respondents felt more connected to their local music scene through community radio. One-third discovered local cultural or music events via the stations, and one in ten went on to financially support local musicians by purchasing records or merchandise after hearing them on air.
“We have countless stories from Australian artists about the impact community radio has had on their music,” says CBAA Music Director Andrew Khedoori. “At last, the value of community radio is no longer anecdotal and is there for everyone to see.”
GOLDEN GUITARS DROP AI ENTRIES
After discovering several entries submitted to the 2026 Golden Guitar Awards in January were wholly AI-generated, the Country Music Association of Australia moved swiftly to introduce a new rule: only human creators are eligible. The addition to the awards’ entry guidelines covers AI creation of lyrics, melodies, arrangements, instrumental tracks or vocals.
OPEN DOOR REBRANDS AS IMMORTAL
Open Door Management has rebranded as Immortal Music Group (IMG), with founders Chris O’Brien and Josh Smith describing the move as “marking an evolution in our identity and vision for the future” since launching the venture in 2019.
The rebrand brings roster additions too, with In Hearts Wake and French progressives Novelists joining existing acts Make Them Suffer, Northlane, Windwaker, Yours Truly, Reliqa and Belle Haven. Canadian producer Brendon Padjasek has also joined the management stable.
Kate Lawrence steps into the role of Marketing Manager, bringing eight years of experience leading marketing and artist strategy at global labels UNFD and Domestic La La. Earlier this year, Jack Bergin came on board as Head of Creative while juggling dual roles as Void of Vision frontman and host of triple j’s heavy music programme CORE.
CHANGING TIDES WASHES OUT
Another music festival has gone to the jam session in the sky.
After two years, promoter Harlow Events confirmed Changing Tides will not go ahead on November 22 and won’t return. No specific reason was given for the cancellation, which is difficult to fathom given the festival sold out each year, attracted crowds to its popular Kiama location south of Sydney, and featured strong lineups. The 2025 edition was set to showcase Sam Fender, Noah Cyrus, The Rubens, Skegss, MAY-A and Boy Soda.
WHY SAD SONGS ARE GOOD FOR YOU
A new study shows that listening to melancholic songs can actually make you feel better. People whose favourite songs are on the happier end of the spectrum tend to play them about 175 times on average, as opposed to sadder songs, which reach a whopping 800. A University of Michigan study published in Psychology Today found that professors Fred Conrad and Jason Corey discovered people associate sad songs with “profound beauty, deep connection, transcendence, nostalgia, and common humanity.” Rather than wallowing in pity, listeners use sad songs to cry, reflect, process and regulate their emotions.
“Empathy and openness to experience make melancholy more meaningful.
STAFF CHANGES AT UNTITLED GROUP
Untitled Group has bolstered its team with new appointments aimed at reinforcing its artist management, tour operations and programming capabilities. Dan Morgan joins as Artist Manager after serving as General Manager of Artist Management at Astral People. He’ll oversee Sam Alfred, WOLTERS and STUM among others, while expanding Untitled Group’s existing management roster.
The company has appointed two Tour Operations Managers: Stef Russin in Sydney and Lillian Birch in Melbourne. Russin brings two decades of experience from major tours and festivals, including work with Keith Urban, KISS, Andrea Bocelli and Amy Shark.
Birch contributes over 10 years of large-scale production experience, having produced more than 250 Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows and managed national tours and festivals. Declan Long joins as Programming Admin Assistant in Melbourne, bringing experience in booking, artist management and festival programming.
Untitled has also announced several internal promotions. Mia Leigh Ford steps up to Tour Director, running point on major tours including Dom Dolla and John Summit while overseeing planning, delivery, commercial strategy and stakeholder management for national and international tours. Charlotte Ibbotson has been promoted to Senior Tour Operations Manager, leading the touring operations team across theatre and regional shows through to arena-scale events and festivals. Michelle Webb has transitioned into a full programming role as Programming Manager, now responsible for curating and securing bookings across Untitled Group’s festivals, events and special projects.
FESTIVAL PATRONS FACE RAIN & TRAIN BLUES
Wild weather in Adelaide forced the first day of the open-air festival Harvest Rock to delay sets for almost two hours over the weekend. Around 3pm, promoter Kicks Entertainment cut power due to lightning concerns and the risk of fans sheltering under trees in the parkland. Attendees were asked to leave for nearby pubs, where some punters staged their own sing-alongs, until being recalled at 4.30pm.
Once the all-clear was given, the festival resumed with Genesis Owusu, Lime Cordiale and The Jungle Giants, leading up to headliners The Strokes’ first Adelaide performance in 19 years. The delay meant Wolfmother and Bag Raiders had their sets cancelled. Wolfmother quickly organised a make-up show at the Hotel Metro on Grote Street that evening, where the punters crowd-surfed to their delight.
Fridayz
There was no late-night revelry after the sold-out Brisbane show of Fridayz Live. Approximately 30,000 people headed to the new Exhibition Station to get home, only to find the station locked up. This resulted in most punters walking home 1km down to Bowen Hills station, alongside car-filled roads and narrow footpaths.
MTV AXED IN AUSTRALIA
MTV channels will go off the air in Australia at the end of October, including MTV 80s, MTV 90s, MTV 00s, MTV Club and MTV Hits. The decision follows Paramount’s choice not to renew its deal with Foxtel in June 2025, with Foxtel turning instead to Brisbane-based Nightlife Music to produce music programming. MTV is also shutting down in the UK (effective New Year’s Eve), Poland, France and Brazil, as viewers increasingly turn to YouTube and social media for music videos.
LOCKER ROOM PR AGENCY LAUNCHES
A new PR agency, The Locker Room, is offering its services to music, entertainment and sports clients. Founder Lisa Wilkinson calls it “a home for campaigns built on authenticity, creativity and a genuine respect for the people behind the stories.” Wilkinson was most recently Director of Publicity at Sony Music Australia after stints at Universal and Warner, and in London with UK artist manager Craig Logan.
FRIDAYZ LIVE HITS 160,000 FANS
Fridayz Live returned triumphantly, pulling over 160,000 over four sell-out shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth & Melbourne.
According to Mushroom Group’s MG Live, the events generated over 125 million impressions from user-generated content across both weekends. The lineup featured Mariah Carey, Pitbull and Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Eve, Tinie Tempah, and Jordin Sparks. Pitbull fans sporting bald skull caps created a memorable scene both on the streets and inside the venues. Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski confirmed Fridayz will return in 2026.
LIVE NATION BOOSTS HELP FOR MUSICIANS & INDUSTRY WORKERS
Live Nation is expanding its support of industry charity Support Act to raise funds for musicians, crew, and music workers doing it tough. Until the end of November, anyone buying a ticket for any Live Nation show can make a voluntary donation to Support Act at checkout. Shows include TWICE, Jelly Roll, Oasis, Pixies, Metallica, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and the Sydney Opera House On The Steps series. The funds support the AusMusic T-Shirt Day initiative, “with the goal to make it easier for concertgoers to give back to the people who keep Australia’s live music scene thriving,” Live Nation said.
The promoter will also mark AusMusic T-Shirt Day on Thursday, November 27, with staff and artists wearing their favourite Aussie music tees to raise awareness and funds for Support Act.
CONCORD SIGNS FLOODLIGHTS
Concord Music Publishing ANZ has signed Melbourne alt-rock band Floodlights to a global publishing deal, following the band’s international success with albums From A View (2020) and Painting Of My Time (2023). Their latest single, “Tricky”, was recorded in their Melbourne studio with guitarist Archie Shannon in the producer’s chair. Matt Tanner, VP, A&R, Concord Music Publishing ANZ, said: “Floodlights are one of the most compelling bands coming out of Australia right now.
“Their songwriting is thoughtful, and deeply evocative – it captures something real about place, identity, and emotion. We’re excited and proud to welcome them to the roster.”
ASA GRAND FINAL
The Grand Final of the Songwriting Prize 2025 – Australia’s largest live performance songwriting competition – will be held on Saturday, November 8, at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney. Now in its 10th year, The Prize is presented by award-winning mental health music charity Listen Up Music and celebrates the power of songwriting while supporting mental well-being across the Australian music community. This year attracted a record 515 entries under the theme “Growth,” with semi-finals held in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Sydney.
Tickets are available here.
VOMIT: QUEUE FOR A SPEW
Vomit Face is the name of the new record label launched by Slipknot keyboardist Sid Wilson, who chose the name because “real art is not pretty.”
“Vomit Face Records is about tearing down the walls,” Wilson explained. “This is for the artists who don’t fit in and never wanted to. It’s rebels in motion that unapologetically stand out. It’s to celebrate imperfection, people making real art out of the mess in a world that rewards fake.”
Artists signed to the label include Lil Bushwick (son of late rap icon Bushwick Bill), J57, DEAD X HEDZ, Rome Fortune, Ricardo Grimm and Mars Black.
CROWD FUNDING FOR WA STUDIO
Back the Booth is a crowdfunding initiative by not-for-profit Regional Sounds to install a compact recording studio inside a disused cupboard in Geraldton, regional WA.
Donations can be made until October 31 here.
BANDSINTOWN REACHES 100M USERS
Live music discovery platform Bandsintown has reached 100 million registered users and generates 20 million monthly clicks from discovery to ticketing pages. The platform operates in 196 countries, including Australia, though Australian user figures are not available. Bandsintown has 700,000 registered artists and 65,000 venues and promoters, lists 2.3 million events, and employs AI to generate 450 million personalised recommendations each month.
Data shows 60% of ticket clicks go to emerging artists with fewer than 250,000 followers, while 40% of tickets going unsold annually in the US “were largely due to fans being unaware events are happening.” In August, Bandsintown signed a deal to become the exclusive provider of concert listings on YouTube and YouTube Music, marking a powerful shift in how fans discover live music.
VALE
Chris Turner was a Sydney guitarist with Rose Tattoo, Buffalo Rockwell T James, Chris Turner Band and Peter Wells Band. Despite medical issues, including multiple surgeries on his hands, he continued to record and tutor young players.
Dom Larizza was the founding lead guitarist with ’90s power pop band Ice Cream Hands, who signed with Rubber Records and stayed for five years. ICH’s Charles Jenkins recalled him as “always the smartest guy in the room, the funniest, the best musician…”
Radio and TV presenter Allison Drower co-presented with Richard Wilkins on an early incarnation of MTV when it aired as an hour-long show on the Nine Network in the 1980s. She was married to rally driver Rick Bates.
Harold Frith, though a 19-year-old jazz fan in 1957, formed and drummed with The Thunderbirds, who ran their own dances in Melbourne’s Ascot Vale and are generally credited with popularising rock and roll in Melbourne.
Phil Golotta formed The Blue Echoes in 1964, a band that achieved platinum success with their albums, wrote a #1 hit for Jamie Redfern that won the Australian Popular Song Festival in 1973, and represented Australia at the World Popular Song Festival. A rabid Essendon FC fan, he put himself on a daily regimen of cycling, running and lifting weights after suffering a heart issue while on a cruise to Puerto Rico in 2018.
Virginia Lillye found national fame on season nine of The Voice in 2020, succumbing at 56 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Kevin Blyton purchased his first radio station at age 19 in 1978, went on to establish the Capital Radio Network, was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame in 2013, and later expanded into running resorts.
Geoff Ayling was a multi-instrumentalist in 1960s Sydney before creating iconic jingles with his wife Jenny, including P&O’s “Take Me Away,” Tip Top’s “Good On You Mum, Tip Top’s The One,” and Berocca’s “Berocca Gives You Back Your B-B-Bounce.” He wrote 3,500 songs in total.
Ben Lewis, who came to fame playing the lead role in The Phantom of the Opera and the sequel Love Never Dies in both Australia and London, died at 46 from bowel cancer.
Rose Wight, who was awarded an OAM in 2009 for service to the arts, including 17 years as head of Writers’ Week, died of a stroke at 82.
