The first in the Listening In series, this report focuses on Australians’ attendance to live music events. This first report follows on from Creative Australia’s research into music festivals in 2024: the Soundcheck reports. This report on live music adds important insights on audience preferences, motivations and needs. 

Key findings 

• Music is important to the majority of Australians. Younger music-engaged participants, in particular, recognise the positive impact live music has on their relationships, a sense of community and belonging, and on their mental health and wellbeing.
• Cost is the primary barrier for Australians to attend live music events. Audiences say the cost of tickets is not the only financial barrier, but also that associated expenses (including travel, accommodation and food and drinks at the venue) all add up and reduce the accessibility of some live music events.
• Australian music is highly valued and may be easier to see live than international acts. But while there is a keenness to see more Australian live music, many may be prioritising rare international acts as they are seen as a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity.
• Attendance is increasing for live music at major venues and festivals. At the same time, there is declining attendance for live music at pubs and clubs, which are fertile grounds for local musicians to grow their audience.
• While cost of living is concerning many young Australians, there is a willingness to spend money on the things that matter to them, and some are prepared to ‘break the bank’ to attend live music gigs. Despite feeling less financially secure, young Australians are spending larger sums on entertainment and leisure in 2024 than they were in 2019. Findings from our research with music-engaged participants show that most people from this group are saving up to attend live music events that are important to them, prioritising these costs over other expenses.
• There are other more subtle trends that seem to be sitting behind a lot of behaviour, including lack of interest, limited awareness of events and sentiment that some areas are served better live music offerings than others. Those living outside the major centres are feeling underserved when it comes to live music offerings in their area.
• High costs for alcoholic drinks at live music events are compelling some of the music-engaged to alter their drinking habits. While most music-engaged participants often or always drink alcohol at live music events, a proportion are choosing to only drink beforehand or find other ways to heighten their experience. Most say this is because alcohol is too expensive these days.

Download the report.

Listening In: Insights on music discovery and engagement is the second report in the series. It focuses on Australians’ listening habits and their ways of discovering new music; along with people’s sentiments towards Australian music and the impacts of algorithmic selection. 

Key findings 

• There is strong positive sentiment towards – and an openness to consuming more – Australian music. At the same time, the convenience of listening to personalised, algorithmic playlists on streaming platforms may inhibit the discovery of new Australian music. Personalisation is a key feature that attracts users to music streaming and social media platforms, and, for the music-engaged, actively seeking out new music can be seen as a chore, requiring people to break out of their habits.
• Australians are predominantly listening to international music – particularly music from the larger English-language markets of the United States and the United Kingdom. Although engagement with Australian music is declining across the general population, Australian music is part of the music diet of almost all of the music-engaged survey respondents and many are regularly listening to Australian music.
• Streaming services are the primary source of music discovery. Almost all music-engaged survey respondents are discovering new music and new artists on streaming services. However, for the music-engaged, social media and music festivals are also popular sources of music discovery.
• Among the music-engaged, there is a recognition of the challenge that streaming and social media pose to the discovery of emerging Australian artists. Some of the music-engaged are concerned that algorithms may limit the exposure of lesser-known artists. There is also a recognition of the important role radio – in particular triple j – plays in serving new Australian music to local audiences.
• While half do not consider artist origin when looking for new music, music-engaged participants hold strong positive perceptions of Australian music. A third seek out new music by Australian artists and bands – higher than the proportion who search for new music by international acts. At the same time, the majority of music-engaged participants say they feel a sense of pride when listening to Australian music, feel a connection to it and believe it is as good as international music.
• Australian music is considered easily accessible by most of the music-engaged. At the same time, two-thirds say they want to listen to more Australian music, indicating there is an opportunity to drive local engagement with new Australian music. 

Download the report.

Listening In: A summary and synthesis of insights on music consumption is the third and final report in a series of publications that provides greater insights into how Australians discover and consume music, along with audiences’ wider attitudes, behaviours and preferences. Main insights have been collected and discussed across this final report, according to themes. 

Key themes 

• Theme 1: Australians value music 
  Australian audiences highly value music and there is strong positive sentiment towards Australian music. Findings indicate there is a willing and ready market for increased consumption of Australian music.
• Theme 2: Streaming and social media are transforming the ways in which we engage 
  Streaming and social media are driving consumption and are fundamentally reshaping the ways in which Australians engage with music and with artists.
• Theme 3: Big events and international artists are taking precedence, both online and in physical attendance 
  International artists are being prioritised over more frequent engagement with local acts. We are seeing this shift in both listening and live attendance preferences among Australians.
• Theme 4: What this means for Australian music 
  Global streaming platforms and social media present challenges for the visibility of new Australian music; and the increased cost of living presents challenges for local music venues and bars. Despite this, Australian audiences hold positive views towards Australian music and want to engage with it more. 

Download the report.