New Survey Reveals The Most Beloved Music Genres In Australia

New Music Habits research from The Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO) surveyed 2,000 people and followed the trends and habits of Australian music fans. 

Research that went into the survey explores music discovery, investment, attitudes and consumption across digital platforms, gigs, festivals and merchandise.

This year's report found that music is more important to people than it was pre-pandemic and pop music is the most popular among listeners.

"Pop music is living up to its name – it is the most popular music genre in Australia. 59% of Australian adults say they regularly listen to pop music, while 20% claim it is their favourite genre," said VMDO Director Jas Moore. 

The most popular music genres in Australia are: 20% of people surveyed chose pop music (23% of women and 16% of men) as their favourite genre. Rock/indie rock is up next, with 13% of listeners opting for guitar-based music, followed by 11% citing country music (16% of men, 11% of women, 14% of regional and 9% of metro), 10% enjoying Top 40/current hits, and 7% loving hip-hop/rap music (16% of 16-24-year-olds).

The study found that 37% of Australians commented, "music is my life, my number one passion” – up from 32% in 2019. The most significant jump in music passion came from young people, with 54% of those under 35 agreeing that music is a central passion, up from 44% in the 2019 report. 

Aussies are also going to more gigs, the survey found. "There doesn’t appear to be any reservation for music fans to be in large crowds. 18% say they are visiting stadiums at least a few times a year to watch live music, which is up from 13% three years ago," Moore commented.

There's a live music attendance boom happening, with 18% of people attending stadium gigs (up from 13% in 2019), 19% going to arena shows (up from 12% in 2019), 22% enjoying the mid-level venue (up from 16% in 2019), 27% liking the comfort and sound quality of theatres(up from 22% in 2019), and 34% of people hitting up bars and clubs (up from 33% in 2019).

Overall, Australians are listening to 1.9 hours of music a day. The average is dependent on age; however, as Moore noted: "The survey discovered that under 35s listen to an average of 2.3 hours of music a day, with 15% listening to more than 4 hours. While over 55s are less frequent consumers, with over 20% saying they don’t even listen to music most days."

View the full report on the VMDO website.