APRA Postcode Rankings Prove Brunswick Is For Songwriters

APRA AMCOS has unveiled its annual postcode rankings, with the inner-north Melbourne suburb of Brunswick taking out first place on the national list for concentration of registered songwriters living within its borders, displacing former top placeholder Northcote in the process.

The rankings are ordered by the number of earning APRA AMCOS songwriters by postcode, with several measures informing the final lists: top 30 national songwriting postcodes, top 20 fastest-growing postcodes, top ten national postcodes by genre, top ten postcodes by state and overall state growth rankings.

"The data indicates that Melbourne's inner north has firmed as the national songwriting capital over the last decade," APRA AMCOS principal analyst Andrew Harris said. "But digging into more recent trends, there are emerging signs that the inner west of Melbourne and parts of south-east Queensland are songwriting growth spots to look out for in the near future."

Neighbouring suburbs Fitzroy North/Clifton Hill took out the third-highest spot on the rankings list, with long-staying high performer Bondi — the highest non-Victorian entry — coming in at #4, just ahead of Newtown/Enmore (#5). The central Sydney suburbs of Surry Hills/Darlinghurst make it into the top ten, at #8, while St Kilda — down considerably from its position at #4 a decade ago — stays strong enough to round out the top ten.

Queensland-based triumvirate West End/South Brisbane/Highgate Hill are the state's highest entry for the national songwriter postcode rankings, at #19, down a spot from last year. However, the wider results show that Queensland's forte is growth — West End & co. have jumped 20 spots in the past decade to sit as they do now inside the top 20, while the Gold Coast suburbs of Nerang/Carrara are second on the list of highest-growth suburbs inside the national top 50 overall ranked suburbs, and Brisbane's Fortitude Valley/Newstead are the highest-growing suburbs outside the top 50.

There's sadly not much love for the left coast throughout the lists, but a West Australian entry of note comes from the Perth suburbs of Joondanna/Tuart Hill/Yokine, which make the top ten suburbs for metal songwriters, at #9. Badass.

For specific sounds, head to Sydney for your fill of dance, electronica and World music; Melbourne has you covered for Pop, Rock and Alternative. The city's inner north lead the way in classical and jazz, though Brisbane's West End is a strong performer for classical too, outranking every Sydney suburb in the field. Interestingly, the Melbourne suburb of Northcote also takes out top spot for country songwriters, ahead of genre flagship town Tamworth. Meanwhile, Alice Springs is up there for Children's music (#2), and Byron Bay has cornered the market on New Age tunes.

Get among some of the results through the infographics below, then head to APRA AMCOS' website for the full spread.