Music education is a significant contributor to Australia’s music industry and national economy, according to new research released by Music Australia.
The latest edition of The Bass Line, Australia’s only comprehensive annual analysis of the economics of the music industry, found Australia’s music industry generated an estimated $10.76 billion in revenue in 2024–25, contributing an estimated $4.28 billion in direct Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Australian economy.
New research highlights the complex pressures facing the sector, amid rising costs, shifting audience behaviour and rapid technological change. While music industry revenues grew by an estimated 5.2 per cent from the prior year, growth in exports (1.9 per cent), direct GVA (1.5 per cent), and artist income (0.9 per cent) was much slower.
These results point to growing pressure on artists and local businesses and highlight the importance of contemporary evidence to help inform industry, policy and investment decisions.
Economic powerhouse
Music Australia’s companion report, More Than Notes on a Page: The Music Education Ecosystem in Australia, reveals the music education sector as an economic powerhouse that generates $1.79 billion in revenues and contributes more to GVA than live performance.
The music education sector spans a broad range of learning and professional development delivered across formal, and informal settings, including theory, composition, instrumental and vocal training, conducting, recording and live production, and music business skills.
The report shows music education plays a critical role in the music industry value chain, contributing economic value while also delivering social benefits, contributing to lifelong engagement and future pathways.
Director of Music Australia, Millie Millgate, said, ‘With two years of data, we’re beginning to see patterns that no single snapshot can show. We can see how value moves through the industry, where it stays and where it leaves, and what that means for artists and businesses.
‘A clear finding of the research is, in addition to being culturally important, music education is one of the strongest contributors to Australia’s local music industry and the economy more broadly.
‘One relationship we all instinctively know that the data is making increasingly clear: the consumption of Australian music by Australian audiences is directly connected to artist revenue growth. This kind of picture, built year on year, provides evidence-based signals to inform long-term local content considerations.’
Key insights
- Australia’s music industry generated an estimated $10.76 billion in revenue in 2024–25 (up from $10.23 billion in 2023-34).
- The Australian music industry contributed an estimated $4.28 billion in direct GVA to the Australian economy (up from $4.21 billion in 2023-24).
- Music education contributed approximately $1.5 billion in direct GVA in 2024–25.
- Australian music industry exports were estimated at more than $1 billion.
- Despite industry revenue growth of 5.2 per cent, artists’ incomes grew 0.9 per cent to $877 million.
- Australian artists continue to rely heavily on live performance, which accounted for around 47 per cent of artists’ music-related income in 2024-25.
- Australians continue to prioritise live music despite rising costs associated with attending gigs and festivals.
- Attendance at major venues and festivals is growing, while smaller venues and grassroots live music settings continue to face pressure.
- The reports identify AI as an emerging issue reshaping how music is produced, distributed and consumed, with impacts evolving faster than current industry awareness and policy settings.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
