EXCLUSIVEAre global stars killing Aussie music? Insider says local industry ‘experiencing an upheaval unlike any before’ as A-listers like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo net millions at expense of home-grown talent

The future of live music in Australia has been left looking uncertain after a string of festivals were axed this year amid low ticket sales and the cost-of-living crisis.

Splendour In The Grass and Groovin the Moo were among the popular festivals to suddenly get the axe this year in a huge blow, with their return dates not known.

The string of cancellations have prompted growing fears about Australia’s local live music scene, while globally famous artists like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Childish Gambino continue to thrive Down Under.Maggie Collins, the Executive Director of the AAM, exclusively told Daily Mail Australia: ‘As our world grows smaller with globalisation, it has its unique effects on certain markets across the world.

he Australian music industry is experiencing an upheaval unlike any it has ever seen before, and the result is that less Australians are listening to less Australian music.’

The AAM’s artist manager membership represents some of Australia’s biggest names including Tame Impala, Vance Joy and G Flip, and they have advocated for international stars supporting more local talents.

They called for the music industry to introduce a new rule to ensure that local artists are promoted by international talents during their tours Down Under.

Named after the late Hoodoo Gurus manager, Michael’s Rule mandates that a local act is added to the bill of an international artist’s tour.

It argues that the Aussie artist should appear on the same stage as the main artist, while their involvement should be announced at the same time as the tour.

‘There are an array of environmental, geographical and market factors that have brought us to this point, but The Association of Artist Managers has highlighted one solution in particular that has received support across the board.

‘That solution is to ensure all international acts coming to Australia have an Australian act somewhere on their line-up. We’re calling it ‘Michael’s Rule’ in dedication to the late, great artist manager Michael McMartin.

‘We are calling on international artists wanting to perform to their Aussie fans, to consider and support the local music scene, much like they would consider cultural, ethical, and environmental factors of a market they plan to tour in.’

A-list pop stars have started to flock back to Australia this year after Covid cancellations and other issues, securing huge sell-out gigs around the country.

However, their huge success amid the struggling music landscape has only added to concerns, with local artists urging them to do more to support Aussie talents.

Taylor Swift recently performed for more than 600,000 Aussies across her seven sold-out Eras concerts, while thousands more fans were unable to even get tickets.

Pink and Fred Again also took Australia by storm as they performed at a string of gigs around the country earlier this year, with huge numbers of fans flocking to see them live.

Olivia Rodrigo sent fans wild in recent weeks as she confirmed her first Australian tour and almost immediately sold-out her eight shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Childish Gambino has also proved hugely popular as he has booked in six shows around the country for February 2025, with some tickets still up for grabs.

Elsewhere this year, Coldplay, Take That, Iron Maiden and James Blunt are amongst the globally recognised names set to travel Down Under for a string of huge shows.

But their success comes amid the struggling local music scene, with global artists continuing to sell huge numbers of tickets while festivals have been canned amid low ticket sales.

Amid the difficult time in the music industry, the international stars have come under fire for not supporting Aussie musicians while taking to the stage Down Under.

While Olivia, 21, signed up New Zealand singer Benee to warm up the crowds on her Aussie Guts tour and Pink was recently supported by Tones and I, most artists have opted for international talents, rather than promoting locally known talents.

Taylor, 34, was accompanied by American megastar Sabrina Carpenter and didn’t perform any Aussie music, while Childish Gambino will be supported by US singer-songwriter Amaarae next year.

Calls have increased for the huge stars to show their support for local talents on their sell-out tours, with Aussie indie-pop group Angus and Julia sharing their thoughts

The sibling duo said they understand singers rejecting festival gigs because they can make more money at their own shows, but stressed the importance of bolstering local talents.

‘International artists obviously are saying no to festivals now because they can make more money doing their own shows, which is, you know, fair enough, that’s up to them as a business,’ Julia told ABC News earlier this month.

‘It is important that they have local support, particularly in a country like Australia that’s so geographically far away.’

‘When things start to fail, there’s this urgency for change,’ she added, while her brother Angus voiced the importance of Australians ‘backing’ one another.

Fears have been rising about the future of live music in Australia, with Tones and I issuing a dire warning on the topic after the cancellation of Splendour In The Grass.