'The Bass Line' Report: Industry Growth Outpaces Artist Incomes As Music Education Soars

Following its first release in June 2025, Creative Australia have unveiled its second The Bass Line report, with the findings presenting a worrying trend for artist incomes.

Describing the series as the “first nationally consistent methodology and analysis of the direct economic contribution of Australia’s music industry,” The Bass Line’s initial report outlined just how much economic value the music industry contributes to Australia.

Now, in its second edition, it provides updates figures and statistics about the state of the industry has operated across the 2024-25 financial year.

Leading the key findings, the latest report offers some good news, explaining that in terms of the economic contribution of Australia’s music industry, total revenue, export revenue, and direct GVA (gross value added) have all increased.

Updating their figures from the 2024 report to include fully quantified data relating to music education, total revenue has increased 5.2% to $10.76b, export revenue has risen 1.9% to $1.08b, and direct GVA has gone up 1.5% to $4.28b.

One of the biggest takeaways in that of music education, which is described as an “economic powerhouse”, generating $1.79b in revenues, and ultimately contributing more to the GVA than live performance (84%, as compared to live performance’s 25%).

That’s not to say that live performance has suffered, with the figures showing a 7.3% increase in revenue from the sector across the 2024-25 period.

There is a small caveat though, and that is the fact that this growth was predominantly thanks to international touring acts. As the report notes, this, “combined with cost pressures across the sector, contributed to the decline in GVA as a share of industry revenue.”

Most worryingly, for those at the centre of the creative process – that is, the artists themselves – The Bass Line notes that they did not capture a material share of the industry’s growth.

While the estimated Australian artist income sits at $877m, this is only up from $869m the year prior – a growth of just 0.9% which is far lower than the current inflation rate. Given the industry’s 5.2% growth as compared to that of artists’ 0.9%, this presents a worrying disparity that needs to be addressed.

The main drivers of the increase artists are seeing, however, is royalties and live music performance, which have seen a $1m and $8m increase, respectively.

The report additionally outlines a number of stressors that have been affecting the industry, pointing towards the likes of how “artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the music industry,” and pointing out how insurance cost pressures are “acutely felt across live music venues, festivals and events.”

“With two years of data, patterns are beginning to emerge that no single snapshot can show,” Music Australia Director Millie Milgate notes in the report. “We can see how value moves through the industry, where it stays and where it leaves, and what that means for the artists and businesses at the centre of it.

“We can see which costs are rising, where unpaid time is being absorbed, where income is diversifying and where it remains concentrated. We can better understand the correlations between different industry drivers, where the economics are sticky, and track where conditions are improving.

“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,” she adds. “This kind of picture, built year on year, is the evidence based signals needed for long-term local content considerations.”

The entirety of Creative Australia's The Bass Line report can be viewed here.