OPINION: Hottest 100 - What Makes An Australian Song Australian?

Is it the singer, the band, the true-blue Aussie lyrics (“he just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich”), or is it in fact the person who came up with the idea and wrote it?

Last weekend’s triple j Hottest 100 of Australian Songs was an absolute cracker, reminding us all how incredible our Aussie music heritage really is and giving us all a gleaming sense of national pride. 

From classics like Beds Are Burning, You’re The Voice and Treaty, right through to more modern-day anthems like Better in Blak, Somebody That I Used To Know, and The Nosebleed Section, there’s no doubt that Australian music is stamped on the world map and firmly cemented in our hearts.

But the countdown only tells half the story of Australia’s emergence as a true global music powerhouse. Perhaps we, the people, need a better understanding of how a song is written and give greater importance and credit to the incredible art of songwriting, rather than just performance.

Behind the scenes, Australian songwriters are quietly dominating international charts, crafting hits for the world's biggest stars and proving that our creative influence extends far around the globe. This is cultural export at its most agile and effective, Australian creativity flowing directly into the global mainstream, generating revenue back home while elevating our reputation as hitmakers.

The numbers are huge. Sia has written over 590 songs, with 340 performed by international artists from Beyoncé to Britney Spears. 15 of her compositions have surpassed one billion streams each. That's Australian songwriting reaching literally billions of listeners worldwide, positioning us as essential players in the global music ecosystem.

Sarah Aarons, APRA Songwriter of the Year 2019, is another artist part of the new breed of Australian songwriters. Her billion-streaming hits The Middle and Stay dominated international charts, while she's simultaneously crafted tracks for local acts like Cosmo's Midnight and Flume. She moves seamlessly between writing for Miley Cyrus and homegrown artists. It's a creative agility that's making Australia an invaluable part of today's interconnected music industry.

Consider the breadth of our global reach: Rihanna's Diamonds carries Sia's DNA. Dua Lipa's Houdini showcases Kevin Parker's production genius. Feist's indie darling 1,2,3,4 sprang from Sally Seltmann's imagination. The late Geoff Mack's I've Been Everywhere Man has been covered over 130 times, most famously by Johnny Cash. It's literally Australian storytelling embedded in American musical legend.

This isn't just about individual success stories. It represents Australia's fast evolution into a music superpower that can deliver the thirst for great new music, regardless of genre.

Need a stadium rock anthem that unites thousands in collective euphoria? We've got that covered. Symphony, jazz and soundscapes to wow an arts festival? We have the best in the world. Want cutting-edge electronic production that pushes sonic boundaries? Australian producers are leading the field. Looking for that pure soul songwriting that lifts people beyond the everyday, anthems that become the soundtrack to life's pivotal moments? Our songwriters are crafting poetry and art that resonates across cultures and languages.

The streaming era has turbocharged this phenomenon. In today's borderless music industry, a melody conceived in a Brisbane bedroom can become a chart-topper in Seoul within weeks. Australian songwriters are increasingly embedded in the global hit-making machine, collaborating across continents to create the sounds that define popular culture.

This digital-first approach to cultural export is remarkably efficient. Every Australian-written song performed internationally generates revenue that flows directly back to our creative economy, while simultaneously building our reputation as essential collaborators. It's soft power with an economic dividend.

We're witnessing the emergence of Australia as a unique creative melting pot, a distinctive musical ecosystem that draws from our deep well of influences and 65,000 years of First Nations culture.

Our songwriters blend the raw energy of Australian rock from the ‘60s onwards with the melodic sophistication of pop and the production values of contemporary hits, all filtered through our constellation of multicultural voices and grounded in the ancient rhythms and storytelling traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music.

This isn't cultural borrowing, it's songwriting alchemy. Australian songwriters take these diverse influences and forge something distinctly new, creating sounds that feel both familiar and surprising to global audiences. That unique perspective, shaped by our geographic isolation, cultural diversity, and deep musical roots, is exactly what makes Australian creativity so valuable in the international marketplace.

But what is heard around the world isn't necessarily what we hear at home. Right now, we need commercial stations, radio and TV, as well as streaming platforms, to pick up the mantel and commit to playing more local music.

If they don’t, generations of new Aussie artists and songwriters will miss out on the opportunity to be heard by the next generation, just like INXS has been, and listeners will risk missing out on discovering our next favourite artists. 

We applaud the ABC and triple j for this latest Hottest 100 and their continued commitment to playing and highlighting Australian music as the national treasure that it truly is.

There’s no shortage of world-class songwriters and artists in this country. Now we need to demand to see and hear them everywhere.