Rankings are based on the number of earning APRA AMCOS songwriters by postcode, covering the following areas: top 30 national songwriting postcodes, top 20 fastest growing postcodes, top ten national postcodes by musical genre, top ten postcodes by State and overall State growth rankings.
Andrew Harris, Principal Analyst at APRA AMCOS said, “The data indicates that Melbourne’s inner North has firmed as the national songwriting capital over the last decade,” adding “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.”
In the last year, Melbourne’s inner North suburb of Brunswick has taken Northcote’s number one national spot, which it had held for the last decade. A notable move away from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs has occurred, with Melbourne’s inner North growing to now take five of the top ten spots (including the top three national spots). In contrast, St Kilda has fallen from fourth place to tenth over the decade.
In Sydney, Newtown / Enmore has climbed the national rankings to sit one spot below the NSW leader of the last decade, Bondi. Although Victoria and NSW make up the top ten spots, Queensland postcodes have been climbing the rankings over the last decade, with Brisbane’s West End jumping over twenty spots to now sit in the top 20.
Both Queensland and Victoria have had strong growth in the last year, with Melbourne’s inner West suburb of West Footscray showing the strongest national growth of the top 50 postcodes; Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley showed the strongest growth outside the top 50. Non-capital city and regional areas have also shown strong growth in the last year including Penrith (NSW), Ipswich (QLD) and Brunswick Heads (NSW).
The Northern Rivers region of NSW has dominated the national regional songwriting rankings, taking five of the top ten spots. Lismore and Byron Bay hold the two top spots respectively, with Ballarat and Cairns overtaking Tamworth, which has fallen from number three on the list to number eight over the decade.
Top areas for songwriting:
- Sydney leads when it comes to Dance, Electronic and World music, while Melbourne leads Pop and Rock and Alternative.
- Melbourne’s inner North postcodes lead both Classical and Jazz. Brisbane’s West End is a notable inclusion in the Classical rankings, outperforming all Sydney suburbs.
- Melbourne’s Northcote takes top Country spot ahead of Tamworth.
- Perth’s Joondanna / Tuart Hill / Yokine makes an appearance in the Metal top ten.
- The Byron Bay region leads New Age.
- Sydney’s Hills District dominates the Gospel top ten.
- Alice Springs makes an appearance in the Children’s music national top ten.
View the full results in the postcodes rankings white paper.
