JOINT STATEMENT

A policy proposal from the Australian music industry for the 2025 Australian federal election.

Key Priorities:

• Vote Music 2025

From Local to Global: Securing the Future of Australian Music

Music is at the heart of Australian life. It tells our stories, fuels creativity, and brings people together, whether in small-town pubs, big city venues, major festivals, or global arenas. It’s a cultural and economic powerhouse that drives tourism, jobs, hospitality, and community vitality. Yet today, Australians are hearing less and less of their own music.

Fewer Australian songs are being played on radio, recommended on streaming platforms, or featured on our biggest stages. Audiences want more local music, but the supply chains that connect them to Australian artists are being choked.

Despite the demand, outdated policies, and shrinking opportunities for exposure are limiting access to Australian music, impacting everything from small venues and festivals to artist discoverability and industry sustainability.

A thriving local music culture doesn’t just benefit artists, it has a multiplier effect across the entire economy.

Strengthening Australian music means:

• More jobs, stronger small businesses, and a boost to tourism and hospitality.
  
  
• Thriving regional towns and urban centres, with music bringing people back to venues, main streets, and cultural hubs.
  
  
• A more vibrant and dynamic national identity, with Australian stories and voices heard at home and on the global stage.

At the same time, Australian music is flourishing internationally. The Kid LAROI, Rosé, Troye Sivan, and Kylie Minogue are topping global charts, Confidence Man, and Amyl and the Sniffers are headlining festivals, Genesis Owusu, Baker Boy and Miss Kaninna are redefining Australian hip hop, and composers Liza Lim and Matthew Hindson are opening new pathways for Australian art music.

Our songwriters, composers and producers are shaping global pop, film, and gaming, with hits for BTS, Dua Lipa, and Hollywood productions, while Jed Kurzel, Caitlin Yeo, and Mick Gordon are behind acclaimed screen and game soundtracks.

This success isn’t happening by chance; it’s the result of years of investment, artist development, and strategic support. But a strong global presence doesn’t guarantee a thriving local industry.

If we don’t act now to strengthen the domestic market, live music infrastructure, and visibility of Australian artists across all platforms, we risk losing not only our next generation of talent but also the enormous economic and cultural benefits that a thriving music industry delivers.

If we get the framework right, we can revitalise Australian music at home and position ourselves as one of the few net exporters of music in the world, a cultural powerhouse uniquely placed in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.

With the global music industry projected to reach US$163.7bn by 2030, Australia has the opportunity to claim its share—creating jobs, boosting tourism, strengthening communities, and ensuring Australian music thrives for generations to come.

Successive Australian Government investment, including the establishment of Music Australia, is already making an impact, but we can’t take it for granted.

We need to build on this momentum with targeted policy and investment that strengthens both supply and demand for Australian music.

The Australian Parliament’s recent inquiry into live music has recognised these priorities, endorsing stronger policy action.

The opportunity is here. Now is the time to act.

A Vision for Australia’s Music Future

Imagine a future where Australian music is everywhere, where regional towns and major cities alike are thriving with live gigs, where more Australian artists headline global festivals and dominate international playlists and soundtracks, and where our local industry is recognised as an economic and cultural powerhouse.

This is not just possible, it’s within reach.

But it won’t happen without strong policy settings that prioritise local audiences, strengthen live music infrastructure, and ensure Australian music is front and centre in the places where people listen most.

By backing Australian music in partnership with the Australian Government, we can:

- Create thousands of jobs and drive small business growth through live music venues, festivals, and touring

- Support thriving regional and urban communities with music at their core, enriching our cities and towns

- Grow our global influence by ensuring Australian artists are heard and recognised internationally

- Strengthen social connection and wellbeing by making music more accessible to all Australians

- Supercharge innovation and creativity by investing in the next generation of music creators

With the right policy settings and smart investment, we can ensure that Australia is not just a country that loves music, but a country that leads in music.

Five Priorities to Secure the Future of Australian Music

1

Supercharge Investment in Live Music & Industry Growth

• Secure Music Australia’s future and increase funding to develop and promote artists, grow exports, drive innovation, collect research and deliver songwriting and recording initiatives in schools
• Tax rebates for venues, festivals, and touring artists to boost performances and local economies
• Revive Live expansion to support festivals, regional touring, improve venue infrastructure, and encourage all-ages gigs
• Music pathways for youth through education, touring support, and an under-25 ticket subsidy

2

Strengthen Creative Rights & Innovation

• Strengthen Copyright and Ensure AI Transparency to protect artists and ensure fair compensation

• Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property protections for First Nations music and culture

• Fairer radio royalties by removing outdated caps that limit artist earnings

3

Amplify Australian Music Locally and Globally

• Modernise content quotas to ensure local tunes get radio airplay when it counts and commercial radio plays more Australian music, no matter the format.

• Ensure prominence of Australian music across digital service providers in playlists and through passive listening

• Significant Australian Content (SAC) test and Australian Content and Children’s Television Standards (ACCTS) guidelines reviewed to incentivise screen composition and local music in Australian Government supported screen productions

• A commitment to a quota of Australian content on all streaming video on demand platforms in line with the Revive commitment of 2024.

• Global touring initiatives ensuring Australian audiences see more local artists supporting international acts - restoring a long-held industry norm

• Arena ticket levy to reinvest revenue from major events into grassroots live music

4

Strengthen Communities and Audience Growth

• Support Act investment over the forward estimates to fund mental health and crisis relief services for music professionals

• Digital inclusion programs ensuring all Australians, regardless of location, can access music and creative opportunities

• Public liability reform to help venues operate sustainably

• Workplace safety initiatives to create respectful workspaces for all artists and industry workers

5

Expand Global Exports & Cultural Diplomacy

• Reciprocal cultural programs strengthening ties with Indo-Pacific music markets

• Diplomatic and diaspora engagement leveraging global networks to promote Australian music

• Export grants and visa support making it easier for Australian artists to tour and build international careers

Australia can be a Global Music Powerhouse

Music is not just something we consume. It’s something we create, innovate, and export. We have the artists, the talent, and the industry expertise to be a global leader in music. By investing in our artists and industry, we can position Australia as one of the few net exporters of music worldwide, amplifying our culture and creative excellence on the world stage.

Now is the time to seize the opportunity. By growing demand at home and expanding opportunities abroad, we can secure the future of Australian music, ensuring more Aussie music is heard, loved, and celebrated at home and around the world.

• Vote Music 2025: For the Future. For the Music. For Us All.

Vote Music 2025 urges all political parties to commit to a stronger future for Australian music, where more Australians can hear great local music, where our artists are recognised at home and abroad, and where music continues to grow jobs, culture and community across the country.

• Vote music is supported by:

Association of Artist Managers (AAM)

Australasian Music Publishers Association Limited (AMPAL)

Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA AMCOS)

Australian Festival Association (AFA)

Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC)

Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR)

Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC)

Australian Music Centre (AMC)

Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN)

Australian Music Venue Foundation (AMVF)

Australian Recording Industry Association and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (ARIA PPCA)

Country Music Association of Australia

CrewCare Limited

Live Music Office

Live Music Venues Alliance (LMVA)

Music Producer and Engineers’ Guild (MPEG)

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO)

Sounds Australia

Support Act

The Push