Australian Music Exports Valued at $195 million
The Australian music industry is worth $195 million in overseas markets, according to a report co-authored by Monash University’s Associate Professor Shane Homan.
The report also noted that overseas royalties to Australian artists have doubled in the past five years, according to recent APRA AMCOS figures.
Born Global: Australian Music Exports is the first comprehensive report to calculate the Australian music industry’s value as an international export.
Monash University and the University of Newcastle partnered with Sounds Australia, APRA AMCOS and the Australia Council for the Arts for the three-year project, the results of which were released on Friday, 12 July.
The report examined the international success of Australian acts including Flume, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Methyl Ethel and Courtney Barnett.
Australian artists make an estimated $195 million from international markets each year, and the largest overseas markets were the US, the UK and Germany.
Associate Professor Homan, from the School of Media, Film and Journalism, identified potential growth in the market.
“Australia’s music scene is a mature sector, and is now looking at new ways to build domestic infrastructure to prepare artists for new markets,” Associate Professor Homan said.
“There’s substantial scope to support Australian artists who have shown that they’re innovators, and where live performance remains a key component of global success.”
He also compared Sounds Australia with other countries’ national music export offices in France, Canada, South Korea, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the UK.
“Exports are not just critical to the music industries, but also increasingly part of national branding, heritage and tourism packaging,” Associate Professor Homan said.
“Other market leaders, such as Canada, South Korea and the UK, are increasing music export funding as a result of significant financial returns on export office investment as part of deliberate cultural industries strategies in key markets.”
“We’re well-placed to build upon recent successes and establish long-term goals and infrastructure that rewards governments, artists, managers and recording labels for sustained effort.”
Associate Professor Homan and University of Newcastle researchers Professor Richard Vella, Professor Stephen Chen and Tracy Redhead will discuss the project’s findings at the launch of the report at the Australia Council in Sydney on Friday, 12 July.