Photo courtesy Steve White
Australia’s country music has exceeded the A$1 billion mark (US$652.1 million) with a live audience of 3.26 million, according to a late July report from the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) titled “Valuing Australian Country Music 2025.”
The exact A$1.09 billion figure ($717.3 million) was a 77% increase from the A$619 million ($407.3 million) from its last census in 2019.
“This is a spectacular result considering that it took 20 years (from 1997) for the genre to double in revenue as reported in 2019,” the report noted.
Streaming figures long identified Australia as the third largest country music market after the U.S. and Canada.
It is also the fastest growing, and the second largest for listeners under 25.
According to Spotify, country music streams have risen by 115% since 2023, with Australia boasting the highest (74%) percentage of new country listeners.
“What we are seeing is a shift in perception for traditional country music from ‘nostalgic’ and ‘emotional’ to ‘on the rise,’ ‘diverse,’ and ‘progressive’,” explained Kristy Rosser, senior vice president and head of media and sponsorship at Live Nation Australia & New Zealand.
CMAA’s study notes that Live Nation has reported a 4.5-fold increase in country shows booked in Australia in 2024-2025.
LN and promoter Kick Entertainment will launch Strummingbird, a three-city country festival, scheduled Oct. 25-Nov. 2.
With high profile crossovers by Beyoncé and Post Malone, sell-out tours of A-listers, and TikTok locally capturing 196 million video views of country music, it’s little surprise 78% of fans now consider country music “mainstream.”
“Country performers think it a blessing we can get up onstage and share stories with people we call ‘mates’ and not ‘fans,” says much decorated singer songwriter Lee Kernaghan.
“The new crowds sense that, along with liking the stories. They don’t put up with phonies.”
The Perth country music scene is an example of the sector’s growth.
Eight venues including Honky Tonk Blues, The Shed and the Mustang Bar pull big crowds.
In May, Honky Tonk had to open a second floor to let in more customers, with co-owner Joshua Paparo explaining, “Our line goes all the way down the street on a Saturday and is there from 6 p.m. until midnight.”
Perth-based Siobahn Cotchin, a multi-winner at the West Australian Music awards and opening arena shows for Matchbox 20, recalled in a recent radio interview that when she started in 2018, “Country was so uncool. Now a group of young acts are following, which is so exciting.”
According to the CMAA, “Live performances of country music at festivals, concerts and in small venues across the nation, generated over 50% of genre revenue, attracted 3.26 million fans and created over 2,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs for event and venue staff.”
Performer fees sat at A$81.6 million, up 21% from A$67.6 million, while live performance workers’ earnings had a 42% rise from A$76.9 million.
In 2024/25, 137 country festivals notched up A$70.5 million ($46.3 million) at the box office (up 112% from the last census) and attracted 684,000 patrons.
Concert box office posted A$88.6 million ($58.3 million) in grosses, up 187%.
The CMAA identified 49 major concerts in the period, including Luke Combs’ first-ever stadium tour by a country act which drew 490,000.
An additional 488 concerts, which took place in theatres, performing arts centres and spaces, attracted 216,000 patrons.
The 542 small venues – hotels, clubs and bars – that regularly showcased country music hosted 16,000+ gigs to 1.87 million punters.
Although there was a 23% dip in box office receipts to $17 million ($11.1 million) but auxiliary spend was up 93% to A$88.6 million ($58.3 million).
