Spotify Australia Turns Four As Streaming Has Its Best Year Yet
- Sia takes out Australia’s Most Streamed Aussie Artist, followed by homegrown favourites Hilltop Hoods
- Justin Bieber dominates as Australia’s Most Streamed Artist of all time
- It’s official: Melbourne has the most “eclectic” music taste of any city in Australia
- Brisbane is our “proudest” city, with more gay pride playlists streamed than any other region
Spotify, Australia’s leading music streaming service, this week celebrates its fourth birthday in Australia, with the release of new insights revealing just what the nation has been listening to since Spotify’s launch.
A Nation of Music Streamers:
Since May 2012, Aussies have streamed a whopping 1,626 lifetimes[2] worth of music – the equivalent time it would take for a person to circumnavigate the country on foot, 400,000 times[3]. Every day alone, 1.8 lifetimes worth of music is streamed across the country.
Putting this into context: last month, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) announced local music revenue growth was up 5% in 2015 – the first upwards trend the industry has experienced since 2012 – much of which has been attributed to the uptake of streaming.
Local heroes: Sia, Hilltop Hoods and Flume dominate. Sia topped the list as Australia’s Most Streamed Aussie Artist, closely followed by hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods who charged up the list thanks to the release of their 2016 album, Drinking From The Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung. Flume took out third place, but remains unchallenged with his self-titled 2012 album retaining the crown as Australia’s Most Streamed Aussie Album.
Kate Vale, Managing Director of Spotify Australia and New Zealand said, “Spotify Australia’s fourth birthday feels particularly special this year, with recent news from ARIA confirming local music revenue growth is up for the first time in three years. It’s a huge win for the industry and local artists alike. As we enter our fifth year in Australia, we’re more committed than ever to seeing the Australian music industry grow.”
Most “Eclectic” Music Tastes
This year, Spotify also reveals which regions have the most eclectic music taste (based on number of genres streamed within a particular area).
It’s official: Melbourne has the most eclectic music taste of all. Melbournites listened to a total of 751 different genres, just beating Sydney (714 genres), Brisbane (692 genres), Perth (653 genres) and Adelaide (499 genres).
The new ‘hipster suburbs’? Ashfield in Sydney’s Inner West and Glen Iris in south-east Melbourne are Australia’s most eclectic ‘burbs, listening to a total of 354 genres and 325 genres respectively.
Australia’s “Proudest” Areas
Spotify also reveals the “Proudest” Aussie regions – those with the highest streams of gay pride-inspired playlists.
Congratulations Brisbane, Australia’s “Proudest” city: Move aside Oxford Street, Brisbane had the highest streams of pride playlists, followed by Sydney and Perth. In a surprise twist, Melbourne came in at #4.
Australia’s “Proudest” suburbs: North Melbourne, Richmond and Mulgrave are Melbourne’s proudest suburbs (by music taste), while Ryde, Bexley and Eastwood lead the charge in Sydney. Rocklea, Sunnybank and Newstead topped Brisbane’s list, while Elizabeth and Northgate were top in Adelaide. Scarborough, Leeming and Rockingham streamed the most pride playlists in Perth.
Australia’s “Proudest” regionals: Topping the list of proudest regional cities was the Gold Coast, followed by Cairns, Tweed Heads and Geelong, while Penguin in TAS, Peachester in QLD and Carters Ridge in QLD were Australia’s proudest regional towns.
Baby, we were Born This Way: Lady Gaga’s Born This Way came out tops as our most popular pride anthem. It was the most commonly found track across the pride-themed playlists analysed.
One of a Kind: The Most Distinctive Musical Trends in Australia
Spotify has also surfaced the artists that are most unique to particular areas of the country in relative terms (i.e. are disproportionately common to that area only).
NSW and VIC keep things local. NSW and VIC are most likely to throw their support behind the local music scene, with Aussie up-and-comers Banoffee, Masketta Fall and George Maple all topping the Most Distinctive Artists list.
SA loves pop-punk and QLD listens to country. Pop-punk rockers The Story So Far and Neck Deep were streamed at an unusually high rate in SA, while country starts Kenny Chesney and Slim Dusty proved to be disproportionately popular in QLD.
Legacy Artists: Aussie rockers AC/DC are most loved by WA whereas VIC stream the most The Beatles and Shannon Noll over any other state per capita.
Spotify recently celebrated its fourth birthday bash with 400 VIP industry guests at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. Up-and-coming dance producer, Golden Features, headlined, with additional sets from DJ Levins, and Flex Miami.
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