Keep up with the latest in the Australian Music Industry!
As the year powers toward the business end of things, we review the changes, updates to our environment.
IT’S A STRUGGLE FOR AUSSIE INDIE ACTS, BUT 64% WANT TO STAY DIY
The new fourth GYROstream report found that 81% of Australian independent musicians can’t survive financially on what they earn from their music, and 77% have a career outside music.
Their biggest music income comes from doing live shows (64.5%), with streaming a distant 25.8%.
Of other money makers, there’s sales of merch (7.6%), sync and licensing (4.7%), “other” (2.6%) and publishing (1.8%).
Not Supportive
55% of the 400 musicians interviewed for the report thought that Australian audiences weren’t supportive enough.
The biggest challenge for Aussie indie musicians is growing an audience, according to 38.7%.
Funding was second biggest challenge at 26.6%.
That was not satisfactory. 48.5% applied for grants in 2024 (up from 32.8% last year) but 68% of those missed out.
Read all the latest product & music industry news here.
Other Challenges
Other challenges were to increase their streams (16.3%), getting on radio (7%) and content creation (4.8%).
But for all these issues, a high 63.8% preferred to stay indie, citing “creative control” and building their careers on their own terms, while 19.7% preferred a label.
Founding partner and CMO of GYROstream, Viv Mellish, said of the fourth GYROsurvey: “Every year, there’s a piece of data that surprises us – this year, for me, it was the significant increase in content creation as the most successful method for artist promotion in just one year and the increasing use of AI as part of the release process.”
$500 Budget
As the figures show, with most (66.4%) Aussie indie musicians only having $500 to spend on promotion for each release, 43% now rely on content creation, compared to 27.3% last year.
Other promotional moves include live shows, playlist pitching, digital marketing, using PR/publicity experts, long form video, word of mouth and radio promotion.
AI Music
There’s a reluctance to use AI in music, mostly because musicians want to maintain creative independence (36.7%), it’s not licensed (23.9%), some admit they haven’t explored the pros and cons of using it (18.1%), the ethical concerns (14.6%) and sceptical of quality (4%).
40% use AI to enhance their creativity, mostly for artwork (22.6%), brainstorming (20.2%), and marketing and promotion (19.8%).
These are followed by use for mastering (15.2%), content creation (11.3%), lyrics (4.7%), production (3.9%) and bios (2.3%).
More Singles
The picture that the GYROstream paints of local indie music makers is that to get a better chance on DSPs, there’s a tendency to release singles (66%) and EPs (16.2%) with albums at 17.2%.
There’s a high rate of being prolific. 52.7% put out one to four releases a year, and 21.9% do 4 to 7 releases a year.
Overseas
63.7% don’t think they have to go overseas to be successful, and only 36% have promoted their music outside Australia.
This is primarily (32%) via social media, 19% via digital marketing, 13% through networking, 10% via playlist pitching and 9% via live shows.
Genres
The Australian indie sector is certainly a diverse one, with rock and pop the most played, at 23%.
Acts playing electronic dance music make up 10.2%, not surprising given that Australia is the third largest EDM market in the world.
Other genres are instrumental (9.5%), hip hop (8.5%), folk (8%), R&B (5.2%), country (4.5%), heavy metal (2.5%), “other” (1.6%) and world music (1.5%).
HOW TRUMP RETURN CAN AFFECT AUSSIE MUSIC
Donald Trump’s return to the White House could have profound consequences for Australian musicians.
The Orange Parrot’s squealing threats about changes tariffs, immigration law and federal regulations could affect the chances of Aussies touring the largest music market in the world.
Tightening Visas
Under his first regime, the tightening of immigration policies lead to longer processing times for artist visas, which in the last few years have shot up in cost by over 250%.
Changes in tax laws could hit consumer spending even more, bringing ticket sales down, while policy changes that affect fuel prices could increase the costs of going on the road there.
Touring Costs
As it is Aussie bands have told Mixdown that touring the USA has become prohibitive that they’re faced with driving rather than flying, sharing three to a hotel room, and cutting back drastically on their production and management team on the road.
Six months ago, Medium noted that big international acts were preferring to tour Europe than the US because of a number of reasons.
More Money In Europe
Europeans had more money to spend on live events and will pay higher ticket prices.
Better tax conditions reduce the financial burden on acts (like Germany and Netherlands).
Brands and sponsors are more willing to invest in live music events.
Public Transport
Europe is smaller to travel around in and has superior public transport linking countries.
Audiences are more diverse, and some countries have more artist-friendly visas and work permits.
Tariffs
Trump’s tariff policies will change the landscape for many international brands.
For instance US-based instrument makers with global manufacturing divisions may have a problem.
But music industry companies might get tax breaks, and stronger intellectual property copyright rules could lead to more innovation and greater compensation for creatives.
ALEKSIAH, TEENAGE JOANS, SWAPMEET BLITZ SA AWARDS
Award winning singer-songwriter, Alexia Damokas’ project aleksiah was the clear cut winner of the SA Music Awards with four gongs.
They were for Best New Artist, Best Solo Artist, the Emily Burrows Award (presented by APRA AMCOS) and Most Popular Pop Artist.
But taking two each were Teenage Joans (Best Group, Most Popular Punk Artist) and Swapmeet (Best Song for “Ceiling Fan”, Best Release – “Oxalis”).
Inducted
Guy Sebastian was inducted into the South Australian Hall of Fame.
He performed alongside West Thebarton, My Cherie, and Sons Of Zöku.
Industry Awards
- Best Studio – Forest Range Studio
- Best Large Music Festival – Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival
- Best Small Music Festival – Space Jams
- Best Studio Engineer / Producer – Lucinda Machin
- Best Live Technician – Luke Hancock
- Best Manager – Rachel Whitford
- Best Live Music Venue – Crown & Anchor
- Best Regional Venue, Festival, or Music Event – South East Beer & BBQ Festival
- Best Cover Art – Aysh Field for Coldwave, No Conflict
- Best Music Video – Bryce Kraehenbuehl for LOLA, Game Over
- Best Music Photograph – Deb Kloeden for The Empty Threats
TIKTOK DEEPENS SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC INTEGRATION
TikTok might have dumped its streaming service, but extends that service (sorta) to users.
Now, users who find a song, album or playlist on TikTok can save it on Spotify and Apple Music (and their podcasts and audiobooks), by posting it to the TikTok Feed (FYP and Stories) or direct messages to other users of TikTok Messages.
Meantime, Canada is the latest to order TikTok to shut down its local operations.
OLIVIA RODRIGO AND HER 21ST CENTURY MILESTONE
Olivia Rodrigo, who’s 21, reached a milestone for pop singers born in the 21st century.
Her GUTS world tour, which ends in 2025, is now the highest-grossing tour by an artist born this century, with 95 dates to 1.4 million fans in four continents.
These included four shows in Sydney and four in Melbourne.
DATA AFTER DARK TRACKING NSW NIGHTTIME ECONOMY
Data After Dark is a new platform set up to track growth and changes in economic activity across NSW’s $102 billion a year Night Time Economy (NTE) between 6pm and 6am after the Minns Government relaxed rules under the Vibrancy Reforms.
The NTE supports 53,000 core businesses, including music venues, restaurants, bars and leisure activity providers, and employs a fifth of all workers.
In the June quarter, 1,197 more core night-time businesses opened, use of public transport grew 4.4%, and NTE in-person spending was $3.57 billion (or 16.9% of the 24-hour total) and NSW people made 464 million night-time trips across all transport modes.
AUSTRALIAN BOARD FOR AFA
Australian Festivals Association’s new board sees Adelle Robinson (Fuzzy Operations) as Chair and former Splendour in the Grass/ Secret Sounds director Jessica Ducrou as Deputy Chair.
New additions are Adam Smith (Yours and Owls), Elise Huntley (Icon Associates), Pete Sofo (Untitled Group) and Ryan Sabet (Live Nation/ Secret Sounds Group/ Kicks).
They join Denis Sheahan (Greenfield Events), Harley Evans (Moshtix), and Jessie Parker (Laneway Festival), while Jacqui Elmas (Frontier Touring) serves as secretary.
ADDICTED TO COUNTDOWN
Some great stories came out about the Countdown era when the iconic ABC-TV show celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Director Ted Emery recalled to TV Tonight how when UK singer Robert Palmer did the show, he came up with a concept of the Countdown girl dancers in whiteface, bright red lipstick, slicked back black hair, and swaying unsmiling in unison while toting guitars behind him.
Tantrum
Palmer threw a tantrum and tore strips off Emery before his team, barking, “I’m not performing on your show unless you get rid of them.”
“So I had to pull them off, and we did some shitty thing with dry ice and a few lights.”
Imagine their fury when the next two Palmer videos, for “Addicted To Love” and “Simply Irresistible” featured…. girl dancers in whiteface, bright red lipstick, slicked back hair, and swaying unsmiling in unison while toting guitars.
GYMPIE MUSTER RAISES $100K FOR RURAL AID
The Gympie Music Muster (Qld) raised $101,000 for its 2024 charity partner Rural Aid.
The funds raised will support a range of critical services for families in rural areas.
Helps includes emergency livestock feed, prepaid Visa cards so farmers can meet immediate needs and support their local communities, counselling to address mental health challenges associated with the pressures of rural life, and essential water security for families whose tanks have run dry or have been damaged by bushfires or floods.
SIX NEW SIGNINGS
Playlunch @ ABC Music
Naarm/Melbourne-based seven piece viral bogan-funkers Playlunch are with ABC Music.
“To go from writing songs about watching the ABC as a kid, to signing on to be an ABC artist is pretty fucking surreal,” said the band led by Liam Bell, and known for its “cocktail of late ‘90s and early 2000s Aussie nostalgia”.
French Kids
Their songs include “Soupe Opera”, named for the French kids programme that was on the ABC, and “Hornbag”, an ode to Kath & Kim.
The signing was led by Senior Label Manager Graham Ashton – his first since joining leading A&R in August – who saw them at BIGSOUND.
ViperSnatch @ Golden Robot
Central Queensland trio ViperSnatch are issuing their single “Therapy” through their newly signed deal with Sydney-based Golden Robot Records.
The song delves into the trauma and emotional scars left by sexualisation, abuse, and sexual assault experienced by young women.
Formed in 2018 on Darumbal Land ViperSnatch delivered a female perspective through a mix of
punk, folk, grunge, and indie, and songs like “Witchcraft”, “Baby” and “SLUT”.
Alex Burnett @ ORiGiN Music Publishing
Successful songwriter/ producer Alex Burnett inked a publishing deal with ORiGiN Music Publishing, as he works on a number of projects.
The brainchild of alt-pop Sparkadia, 30 songs he’s written, co-written or produced were streamed over 1.4 billion times, including hits with Thelma Plum, Hockey Dad, Alison Wonderland, DJ Snake, Cosmos Midnight, Flight Facilities and Hayden James.
30 Places
These 30 were placed in triple j’s Hottest 100, won 12 ARIAs, six APRA Awards, three triple j Album of the Year Awards and three Song Of the Year Awards via the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition and NIMA Awards
Burnett said, “After running my own publishing company for the last six years, I’m humbled and excited to be joining the ORiGiN Music Publishing family.
“I love writing songs and collaborating with the best Australian artists to help their unique voices be heard on a global scale, and I’m thrilled to now have a team who align with my vision and values to take that even further.”
Judas Priestess @ Golden Robot
Judas Priestess, Australian all-female Judas Priest tribute band, are now on the Golden Robot roster, and releasing as a single a version of “Dissident Aggressor” on November 22.
With dates around the world, they got the thumbs up from Priest’s Rob Halford, with whom Priestess frontwoman Militia Vox dueted with on Bad Penny’s “Push Comes To Shove.”
No Cure @ Sharptone
Three year old Birmingham, Alabama hardcore death metal band No Cure have shacked up with Sharptone Records.
Their eight-track concept EP I Hope I Die Here, out on December 6, features guests on every track, including Daniel McWhorter from Gideon, Kayhan Vaziri of Wretched Blessing + Yautja, and Matthew Hasting of MyChildren MyBride.
The EP’s title is “a love letter to Alabama and the Southeastern experience. It is an acknowledgment of suffering, and a proclamation of strength.”
Avoid @ UNFD
Seattle hard rock five-piece Avoid are now on UNFD’s global deal, and dropped a new single “Burn”.
Vocalist Benny Scholl explains the song is
“about the internal battles we face sometimes. I feel like especially as an artist, but really just as people in general we all have our own experiences of facing the highest of highs, and also the lowest of lows.
“Sometimes I think we all just want to ‘set it off, let it all burn’.”
SEED 2025 HEADS TO ROBERTSON
The 2025 edition of The Seed Fund’s Future Makers Management Workshop will take place in Robertson, in regional NSW, although no date has been fixed.
Applications for the capped 35 delegates closes Tuesday November 12.
Participants will receive mentorship with artist managers,Cath Haridy (Bob Evans, Emily Wurramara, Anna Laverty) and John Watson (Missy Higgins, Midnight Oil), Elefant Traks’ Tim Levinson, Concord Music Publishing’s Jaime Gough and Butchulla songman Fred Leone.
SPOTIFY LAUNCHES AFTERPAY CAMPAIGN
In an Australian first, Spotify launched its biggest ever Afterpay partnership, featuring the Gift Generator through Spotify’s “The Stage” format.
Inspired by Spotify experiences like Daylist, the Gift Generator analyses listener behaviour – favourite artists, genres – and asks a series of questions to personalise the gift suggestions.
It factors in lifestyle preferences, as Beauty Guru, Trendsetter, Thrill Seeker or Treasure Hunter.
Shake
Enhanced by haptic technology, users shake their phones to unlock their gift box, allowing them to proceed to purchase.
Along with curated gift recommendations, users can personalise a Christmas playlist adjusted by their “Grinch Factor” – “based on how festive they’re feeling!”, Spotify said.
VALE
Warren Cross was entertainment lawyer to the stars and to major labels and associations as the Music Managers Forum.
Apart from his game changing contribution to the export development grant mechanism which revolutionised international touring, his highs included negotiating the sale of the INXS publishing catalogue to MCA Music Inc.
He acted for Mushroom Records in re-signing Kylie Minogue, secured for The Seekers the largest royalty advance ever paid by EMI Music Australia and was legal counsel to world champion surfer Tom Carroll in the first million dollar endorsement deal in professional surfing.
Taman
Alex ‘Zac’ Zitnik started as lead guitarist with Newcastle’s The Four Strangers, which became Taman Shud, whose 1968 album Evolution was a classic and whose music was in surf movies as Life In The Sun and The Hot Generation.
Noel McGrath wrote The Australian Encyclopaedia of Rock in 1978 (through Outback Press) which thoroughly listed every Australian act whose records charted, and which he updated in 1979 and 1984.
Ted Thirkill was one of the first presenters on FM101 Logan (Brisbane) and known for his Sunday rock show Ted’s Memories, which exhibited his encyclopaedic knowledge of music and strong love for the radio medium.
Pharmacy
Richard Andrews, 58, was drummer of the Melbourne band Underground Lovers and head of Pharmacy Records, which signed Black Cab, The Fergs, Registered Nurse, Grand Salvo, Silver Ray and Princess One Point Five.
Revealing he had been detected with phase IV metastatic lung cancer cells, the man described as “a gentle soul with a cheeky wicked sense of humour” left this sphere with his wife Nicolette singing their song “Do You Realise” by The Flaming Lips.
Mina Motu was New Zealand-born drummer with Sydney ‘80s band The Tribe, remembered for his barefoot ways and the Mohawk he sported.
Peezy (born Pal Bidong) was an aspiring Melbourne rapper in his 20s who was shot after a brawl broke out outside a Halloween rave.
