Ticketmaster is the world’s leading ticketing company.  Our International business spans 30 markets, making Ticketmaster a truly global partner in the entertainment industry. This month we delve into the Australian market to give you an insight into how one of the most successful territories operates.

Our man in Melbourne, Kane Kete, Artist Services Manager for Ticketmaster Australia and New Zealand talks us through one of the Asia Pacific’s biggest music markets.

Gday!

Kane Kete – Artist Services, Australia

Australia boasts one of the biggest music markets in the world and in 2017, Live Performance Australia recorded that 23 million Australians attended live events (which is almost the total population of the whole country).

In 2019, we’ve seen (or will shortly) a huge range of international touring acts like Fleetwood Mac, U2 (Live Nation) and Elton John (Chugg) who will play in venues such as Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Perth’s Optus Stadium and the new North Queensland Stadium in Townsville.

Acts like Pixies, The Darkness, The Flaming Lips, a-ha & Rick Astley are also making the trek to play iconic venues such as The Palais, Forum Melbourne and Brisbane’s newest venue The Fortitude Music Hall.

Touring festivals have made a triumphant return to Australia’s live landscape (after a brief hiatus) and this year we saw the second instalment of Live Nation’s Download Festival with Slayer’s last ever gigs and the brand spanking new Festival X with Calvin Harris set to light our summer on fire.

There’s also the hugely successful return of the RNB Fridays Live stadium tour (Illusive Presents) which this year will see Janet Jackson, 50 Cent and Black Eyed Peas headline a nostalgic line up of R&B all stars.

Did you know that Melbourne has the most live music venues in the world per capita?

The Live Music Census conducted by trade organisation Music Victoria found that Melbourne (capital city of Victoria) has the most live music venues in the world per capita, with one live music venue per 9,503 residents.

The report stated that “By comparison London has 245 venues (1 per 34,350 residents), New York has 453 venues (1 per 18,554 residents) and Los Angeles 510 venues (1 per 19,607 residents).”

Ticketmaster is fortunate to ticket a number of key iconic venues in Melbourne and has long standing relationships with a number of historic rock’n’roll spaces including Forum Melbourne, Palais Theatre and Festival Hall.

This year, we announced that Forum Melbourne has made the move to a 100% fully digital ticketing system making it Australia’s first digital-only venue. You can read more about this here.

Down Under Sound

Forum, Melbourne

The local Aussie music scene has never been in better health with an abundance of Aussie acts making big waves overseas. From Amy Shark, Vance Joy, Dean Lewis, and Gang Of Youths to King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard who just sold out Ally Pally in London, there are so many incredibly talented acts that come from the land Down Under and here are some of our faves.

Tones & I

If you haven’t heard the global smash hit, Dance Monkey, then you must be living under a rock.

After hitting number one in Australia’s ARIA Chart, Tones & I broke the record for most consecutive weeks at number one (a total of 10 weeks) sweeping aside a 32-year old record set by Australian pop royalty, Kylie Minogue’s Locomotion.

Tones & I’s catchy hit has notched up 300 million global streams while topping the charts in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Austria and France. And just last week, the former busker hit the top of the UK’s Official Singles Chart marking the end of a nine-week climb up the Top 100.

The 19-year-old from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula has just received eight nominations for the 2019 ARIA Awards and is currently on a sold-out tour of Australia.

Thelma Plum

Thelma Plum is an incredibly talented 19-year-old singer-songwriter hailing from Brisbane. A Gamilaraay woman, she was the winner of triple j’s National Indigenous Music Award in 2012 and this year released her debut album Better in Blak to much critical acclaim.

Plum’s Better In Blak album has scored six nominations for the 2019 ARIA Awards and the title track from the album has been described as a “triumphant title track, a pop gem that shines like a diamond and is just as indestructible: a moving proclamation of identity from the Gamilaraay songwriter.”

Ruel

Following the release of his highly-anticipated sophomore EP Free Time this September, Sydney-based singer-songwriter Ruel is set to take his new record around the country.

The ARIA-award winning multi-instrumentalist and performer has been selling out rooms across the UK, Europe, and Asia, as well as performing his biggest ever Australian shows throughout 2019.

CXLOE

CXLOE

Hailing from Sydney, singer-songwriter CXLOE is definitely one to watch. Her break out single ‘Show You’ co-written and produced by Sam Farrar of Maroon 5 has amassed 17 million steams.

CXLOE has supported Broods, Carmouflage Rose, and Maroon 5, alongside her own headline shows in Los Angeles and single tour in Sydney and Melbourne in May this year.

Her most recent single ‘Sick’ is an absolute banger and she has also released a collaboration with Lost Kings for a track called ‘Ain’t The Same’ which is climbing up streaming charts.

We can’t wait to catch her performing next at Falls Festival at various locations around Ausrtalia over New Years. Check her out on Spotify here:

Venue Spotlight

Mentioned earlier, the hottest new venue to open in Australia this year is Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall.

A joint venture with Secret Sounds, Live Nation and the team behind other Brissy venue the Triffid (Aussie band Powderfinger’s John “JC” Collins), the venue operates as a 3,300 cap theatre which owners say is the “largest ballroom/theatre-styled space in Australia”.

The official opening night featured a star-studded lineup of local Queensland heroes including Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning and Ian Haug, Ball Park Music, DZ Deathrays, Tia Gostelow, Thelma Plum, Custard’s Dave McCormack, Sahara Beck and Jeremy Neale.

Fortitude Music Hall

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