The Australian music industry is in decline due to an overreliance on reality singing competitions that promote clones instead of original artists. This stems from the mid-1990s popularity of bands like Silverchair that replicated international styles, which led radio stations like Triple J to abandon their support of local underground music. Additionally, the proliferation of poker machines in pubs destroyed the live music scene by replacing audiences and revenue that previously supported original Australian bands. As a result, there has been no major breakthrough Australian artist in the past two decades comparable to icons from earlier eras.

1. 6 Reasons Why the AustralianMusic Industry Is Currently the Worst InThe World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwZhqU0QL4 AC/DC, INXS, Midnight Oil, The Divinyls, Cold Chisel, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The
Angels, Dragon, Mondo Rock, Crowded House, Radio...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwZhqU0QL4
AC/DC,INXS,MidnightOil,The Divinyls,ColdChisel,Skyhooks,Rose Tattoo,The Angels,Dragon,MondoRock,Crowded
House,RadioBirdman,The Bee Gees,Little RiverBand,NickCave,The ScreamingJets,HoodooGurus,Masters
Apprentice.Whatdoall of these bandsand musicianshave incommon?Theyall hail fromasunburntcountry,a landof
sweepingplains,of raggedmountainranges,of drought andfloodingrains.
That’s right,Australia,oras some of youlike tocall it,“DownUnder”. Andthat’snot evenall of them, trustme whenI
say that I have leftsome outof the listdue to spacingissues.Theyall broke thruthe barrierthat isour isol ation(orwas,
damninternet) andtooktheirmusictothe masses,achievingbothinternational successoutsideof theirhome country
as well assettinga benchmarkforthe soundthat wouldcome todefine the term“Aussie Rock”.Punditsfromall around
the worldhailedthese artistsas“uniquelyAustralian”yet“mainstreamaccessible”anditcreate a new awarenessof my
homelandthe likesof whichhave notreallybeenseensince.Andthatthere myfriendsisthe purpose of thisarticle.
You see,the otherdefiningcharacteristicthatall of these bandshave isthat theyall made it bigpre 1993, all paid their
dueson the live circuitandALL had actual talent.Now letusfast forwardthroughthe last2 decadesandyou will see a
disturbingtrendthatseeminglyhasnoplansof lettingupanytime soon.There isandhasbeennoiconicAustralianband
or musicianbreakthroughto the extentof those previouslymentionedinall of thattime (Idon’tcount Airbourne,as
youwill findoutlater).
Whichsickensme to the core because Ihave beenaroundmusicall mylife.Yousee,Igrew up inmy parentspubin the
outbackand althoughmyfatherwas notmuch of a businessman,he knew how tobooka show.Andhe’dgetall the big
bandsout to thiswee little townwithonly200people (if that) anditwouldjustrock the place down.Farmers,outof
towners,bikie gangs(surprisinglyfriendly,ha),the local indigenoustribe.Youname the group,theycame fromfar and
wide justtocatch a glimpse of some goodol’fashioned livepubrock.Andwhenthiswasa regularoccurrence for a
preteenitdoeskindof shape the directionyourlife heads.
Andsince those fateful daysof ayoung 6 year oldsittinginfrontof a PA systemincomplete awe atthe madnessaround
me,I have prettymuch trieditall whenitcomesto the business.Ihave workedall facetsof the stage life,fromroadie
to frontman,frommajordistributiontoretail…Ionce workedforPolygramRecords.Ihave triedmyhand at beinga
manager,I triedto start a bookingagencyforbands.AndI have to say,both myexperiencesasa live performer&my
failuresatthe businessside of thingshave givenme aratherunique perspective onthe currentscene asitstands today.
Some of you maythinkit mightbe me spouting off sourgrapesbut I can assure you thatis the furthestfromthe truth.
Because whenitcomesto the business,Iwill proudlyswearwithmylefthandonmyheart& myright heldhighthatthe
vast majorityof those failuresonlycame aboutfromhavingtodeal withthe worst musicindustryinthe worldtoday.I
hope that with myreasonsI presenttoyoutoday,it will showcase the madnessthathascontrol overthisonce genre
definingindustry.Andhowitunfortunatelyshowsnosignof lettingup….
6. Attack of the Clones
Execute Order 66
If you were scrolling through pages and came across that picture
above, at first glance you would think it’s just another story about
Justin Bieber and what level of douchebag he had achieved that
day. But no, that right there is Reese Maston. And although I will
name other instances, this is whom I will be mainly focusing on as
it simply proves my point like no other.
Reese Maston, winner of Australia’s X-Factor season 3. Did he win on his vocal ability? I am sure he and his fans

2. would like to think so. Did he win it for his artistic merit? Hell no. The reason AND THE ONLY REASON they not
only chose him for the show but why the masses voted for him to win (although admittedly, there was not much
challenge from the other so called artists) was because of Justin Bieber. Who at the time was EXPLODING onto the
scene and around the world. So when little Reece rocked up looking like an exact carbon copy of what was relevant
everywhere else at the time, they snatched him and made sure the show revolved around him. They manipulated
the viewers into thinking that yes, he was the Australian Justin Bieber and milked it for all its worth. And didn’t the
confused (or are they just stupid) masses lap it up and fall for it hook, line and sinker. And the clones attacked once
again.
The auditioning process for the X
Factor
For this is not the first time it
has happened in the last 2
decades and it’s already
happening again. Anyone
remember when Kylie
Minogue was a pop princess
singing Locomotion (really
badly) and dreck like “I Should
Be So Lucky”. Then Madonna
decided to release Erotica. Suddenly, Kylie changed her image to be more of a sex symbol. Grunge kicks in,
suddenly she is in a clip with Nick Cave & dressing all “alternatively.” Madonna releases a disco dance album, so
does Kylie. Do you see the trend happening here. The arc of her career mirrors Madonna’s in almost every way
(even an attempt at Hollywood). And let’s not forget the Nirvana cover band that was Silverchair (More on them
later).
Hell, American bands used to copy the Australian way of rock because they believed we were the best musicians in
the world. Now look at us, reduced to recycling the lowest common denominator pop garbage that was relevant in
the United States 6 months ago. I am actually dead set shocked, not just surprised, but shocked, that we hav e yet
to see an Australian version of Lady Gaga or Nikki Minaj, although give it another few weeks. The sad thing is that
nowadays, the once iconic musical conclave of talent that is Australia is inexplicably being aligned with the
miserable excuse of nothing more than glorified karaoke competitions known as…
5. “The Voice” And “The X Factor” – Seemingly The Only Source
For Australian Music
THIS is who represents the definitive Australian singer today.
Now to an extent, this stems back to when Australian Idol
was doing the rounds, but as it is today it is these
shows which is polluting the culture to the point where we
simply don’t have a unique sound anymore. And unlike
Idol, both the X Factor and the Voice really go all out to
showcase the fact that all they want is clones of what
came before.
Reece Maston, the winner of season 3 that I mentioned before. Well, his sister is a contestant of season 5. The
inaugural winner of Australian Idol, Guy Sebastian, well his brother got a place on the Voice (and was even too
rubbish to make it past that). And the latest winner Samantha Jade, had an already accomplished career to which
she should’ve have been deemed ineligible. You are not really an X Factor if you are already known, that is an
oxymoron right there. Did I mention Jimmy Barnes got his daughter Mahalia a spot on the Voice also, whom has
also already achieved a significant career thanks to daddys influence with the Tin Lids as a child and should not

3. have even been allowed to enter? This is just off the top of my head folks, the select few I have mentioned are but
the tip of the iceberg.
On top of this they don’t give many new people a go, instead bringing back runners up from the previous series who
lost. Now correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t these people lose? Did they not fail the auditions, were they no t sent
home? No they weren’t, they were just repackaged for the next season. And it is these who are representing us
around the world. Once we had AC/DC, now we have these people. The irony being is if AC/DC were doing the pub
circuit today & auditioned for X Factor, they wouldn’t have even got past the sign up at the local shopping centre.
The powers that be would take one look at Bon Scott and say, “no way.”
Do you think Peter Garretts frenetic frontman style would not have been part of the outtakes, the ones they put on
air for people to have a laugh at? Tell me I am wrong. Actually, let me ask you, go listen to the finalists of these
shows and their Aussie equivalent (if you can without suffering an embolism), then compare them to ANY of the
major Australian Icons I mentioned previously in the intro. Now tell me, would any of those bands I talked about
earlier even get close to television via the X Factor? Highly unlikely.
No, I don’t think so.
I think Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden put it best. “I
don’t understand these kids auditioning for X-Factor
claiming they just want to make music. CUT THE CRAP!
Let me introduce you to the kid teaching himself how to
play guitar, the busker in the train station. The guys and
girls recording their own demos and playing the small
venues. The unpublished songwriter with countless
books full of lyrics. The people who just want to be
heard, who want to express themselves, their creativity
and their artistic worth. THEY are the ones who just
want to make music! THEY are the “real” artists. Anybody auditions for X Factor it’s because they want to be
famous, period. Otherwise, they’d already be out there making music.”
But as horrible as it is now, the massive flow of regurgitated sewerage that is called Australian music n owadays
seemingly starting flowing without restraint from the mid 90’s and a certain Nirvana cover band.
4. Silverchair and Triple J, Hipsters Elite
In 1994, there was a huge band competition involving a major indie radio station called Triple J and a pu blic
broadcasting network called SBS. At the time it was the biggest thing going in the whole industry as there was not
many outlets for the locals to get the funding and support they need to make it on the world stage. So every band
and their dog (or groupies) sent in a demo, my band included. Now take note of what time period this was all taking
place in. The months following Kurt Cobains death. BAM! And suddenly we get the winners, Silverchair.
I believe they had it won the second the execs got an eyeful of Daniel John’s cloned Kurt features and recycled
sound, no one else stood a chance. I won’t say our band was better than them (it was on every level), but taking us
out of the equation, I can name 10 bands from just my city alone back then who were way more talented, had much
better and more original sounding songs (even within the grunge genre) and actually had something to offer,
something more visionary. They didn’t just send in “Nevermind part 02, Nirvana Down Under” or any equivalent.
They actually sent in real music, written by them, from their heads and their hearts. But we all know what happened.
But I am not putting the blame on Silverchair’s shoulders, don’t get me wrong (although part of me wants to), they
were just at the right place at the right time. It’s just where the decline of the Australian way of music seemingly
began to free flow from this period.
You see, Triple J was an Indie radio station. Although they were national by that point, they were still regarded as
the quintessential underground station for anything and anyone in regards to the LOCAL Australian music scene
and its inhabitants and it was quite effective at promoting the local live scene for each respectable city. But then
came the success of Silverchair. And once that took off, Triple J all of a sudden became “hip”. And you were not

4. only uncool if you did not listen to it, but you were unAustralian because it meant you didn’t support the local music
scene. I actually had someone say that to my face (I kept my restraint).
And credit to JJJ, they milked it dry until they were on top. They became everything they always said they would
never be, a mainstream radio station. And the worst part is that to this day, they still market themselves as the
“underground” alternative station when it’s so abundantly clear that they are anything but. All they play is just the
same old recycled garbage. And the local artists they do play so they can claim they are still underground, well I
have been performing on the Australian live scene for 20 years now (I started young) in various forms from muso to
roadie as I mentioned earlier, and I have not heard of ANY OF THESE BANDS OR MUSICIANS.
Or 2DAYFM for that matter.
It’s like they just walk down the street, picked up the nearest busker,
threw him in one of those cheap, do it yourself cd booths that I can
never find and recorded something for after the ad break. And apart
from one or two very RARE exceptions, that once famous competition
that rocketed Silverchair to stardom that eventually became known as
Triple J’s Unearthed has become a running joke and is just another X
Factor style outlet to find the next army of clones.
3. Poker Machines
Evil incarnate
(In 1999 the Australian Productivity Commission reported that
Australia had nearly 180,000 poker machines, more than half of
which were in New South Wales. This figure represented 21% of
all the gambling machines in the world, and on a per capita basis,
Australia had roughly five times as many gaming machines as
the United States. Revenue from gaming machines in pubs and
clubs accounts for more than half of the $4 billion in gambling
revenue collected by state governments in fiscal year 2002 – 03)
Imagine the stats in 2013.
Although everything I have mentioned so far is about the behind the scenes crap, nothing has done more damaged
and ruined more lives in the music industry than poker machines. I have a burning hatred for these monstrosities of
pure evil and their ability to destroy people lives, not just musicians. But for the sake of argument and this article, I
will try and simply focus on the impact they have had solely on the Australian music industry. The State of NSW
officially legalised the use of “poker machines” (slots) in 1997 in pubs as a way to find revenue to help fund the
2000 Olympics (Don’t even get me started on that waste of money). And the day that came into effect was
essentially the death knell for us local musicians.
Before they did this, poker machines were only allowed in registered casinos and clubs, so local pubs relied on
bands and musicians to entertain the masses who were out for a few. And you could actually earn a nice little living
as an originals band if you made a big enough fanbase. This is exactly how Cold Chisel and AC/DC got famous, by
touring their arses off to rambunctious Aussie crowds. But once pubs were given the greenlight to suck the
community dry through these infernal, soulless machines (that might actually prove Satan exists, for surely only he
could come up with something so diabolical), the live scene suffered a fatal blow.
We essentially all lost our jobs. Suddenly we were going from earning $200-$300 a show for an original band to
having to pay the venues to play covers. And I mean that literally. Some venues have the nerve to actually say that
if you don’t get 50 people in the door, you have to pay them a fee. Thing is, the pubs are always still packed, but
now all the punters in the POKIES ROOM. Add to this the banning of smoking inside of venues and basically there
is now no reason to even have a band.

5. Satan’s Xbox
You made your money off the machines, you got paid
millions by the cigarette companies to create outdoor
smoking areas (that was a bit of a scandal over here but
didn’t stop them). Why would you waste your profits on
something everyone is too busy to watch? It got to the point
where if you were to play in a pub, they were doing you a
favour. I remember one such incident where we had loaded
up a bus of fifty locals to take to a gig in another town. The
only punters there were the ones we brought. And what did
we get for our troubles? $2.
Let that sink in. And they even had the nerve to put a $2 coin (yes, a single coin) in the palm of my guitarists hand
and then ask us to come back. Let’s forget the fact that the 50 people we brought probably drank a few thou sand
bucks worth of grog. That was quite literally the most insulting moment in my entire career. And eventually a lot of
the other States jumped on board the pokie bandwagon and now you have a scene completely devoid of anywhere
that the next possible AC/DC can hone their chops and make a statement.
Any other job gets a Union.
Now granted, the local scene (in NSW at least) has
made a bit of a (tiny) resurgence as of late, but it is
nowhere near the level it was back in the day before the
dreaded pokie. Bands are playing for dollars, not $100
of dollars.. And unless you have a significant presence
in the community, you can’t tour by yourself anymore.
You have to book gigs with multiple well known local
acts just in the hope that the lure of multiple bands will
get the crowd in the doors. Most venues will likely be
forced to put on a cover charge to help fund these
shows, and if no one shows up, you have 6-8 bands all not getting paid and going home empty handed.
Now that is just wrong on so many levels I can’t even comprehend the magnitude of how wrong it is.. And just to
add, the Olympics is 13 years behind us, the machines are still in place, yet the state is broke. With the epidemic of
poker machines that litter the NSW pub landscape, how is it that the state is broke? All of this has culminated into
my next point.
2. A Disillusioned Reality
Since 2000 (lets round it up and off), I have played
countless shows, all over Australia. Although the city of
Melbourne always alluded me apart from an occasional
guest appearance, I have performed with some of the finest
(and some of the worst) musicians to grace the planet from
all over our lucky country. And in the past decade the
general consensus of them all, in all genres, is that maybe,
it’s simply not worth it. And I tend to agree. Thanks to this
they call the Australian music industry, playing live in a
touring pub band or making a name for yourself has
become not only an emotional exhausting experience (for the wrong reasons) but kind of a luxury. Nowadays o nly
rich kids that have parents with expendable incomes are joining bands, and that is not necessarily a good
thing. Although not dissing everyone in these circumstances, it seems to me that people who have had it all given to
them lack the necessary emotional experiences to write a truly great song. But’s that my own opinion and off topic.

6. Anyone else who isn’t fortunate enough to live in a family with a $100,000 plus income or isn’t already themselves
an established name, are pretty much either quitting or not bothering. And that truly is the most depressing part of
all. I have met guitarists that put Yngwie Malmsteen to shame. I have met drummers that can pull off stuff only the
very top elite can do. I have heard bass players that would make Les Claypool himself get up and mosh. And if you
think the contestants of the X Factor are the best singers Australia’s got, then you are not only completely wrong but
I am quite ashamed at my country for giving you that impression. And they are all quitting. It quite literally is the
saddest thing about this whole debacle. The fact that these quality musicians that are not only the best in their field
but are most probably the best in the world are giving up the band life to take a desk job is shocking.
Don’t forget about these guys as well.
Some might read that and go, “Ummm, hang
on a minute, isn’t that meant to be the other
way around?” Well, maybe in other countries
and in the glory days of the past, but no
more. Nowadays there is simply no reason
to form a band. And the young padawans
(with rich parents) coming thru today, they all
think they are one youtube video away from
being their musical equivalent to Justin
Bieber and don’t even consider touring. So
the actual, great, “real” artists end up just
wasting their life away at home, they open a
Soundcloud account and just put their music out there for no one to hear. And even the established names are
quitting simply because they are not only used to getting paid but were around when the scene was at its peak and
a lot of them find themselves suffering depression when they realise that it has all been dead and buried. I know on
occasion I shed a tear for the days of old.
When I first started playing live, there was 12 venues in our town. Now there is barely one. All the rest have their
pokie rooms and outdoor smoking areas. But regardless of everything I have mentioned so far, the number one
reason is truly the most mind baffling AND the most frustrating of them all.
1. The Australian Public
It used to be such a fun place :(
I honestly don’t know what is happening
anymore in our country culturally. We
have completely lost our identity, we’ve
lost essentially what it is that makes us
so unique and have become nothing
more than a parody of what we once
were. Has reality television actually
dumbed down the masses to the level
of Morlock? It certainly seems like that
nowadays. And this can be seen and
felt throughout the entire Australian
music industry. “Aussie Rock” is dead.
There hasn’t been a decent uniquely Australian musical export out of this country for quite some time now (not for
lack of trying mind you).
Some people might point to the band “Airbourne” and say “well, they have achieved international success.” Funny
thing about that band though, even though they won a nationally recognised band competition, they were still
relative unknown by the time they made it in the US. Which right there is why the music industry is so messed up. A

7. quintessential Australian sounding rock band has to make it in the States first to get any recognition over here. Now
let THAT one sink in.
Funnily enough I miss this typeof camaraderie
And although this can be attributed to all of the previous
points you can’t really blame anyone but the Australian
public (and poker machines). For they have brought into all
of this recycled crap and in full force. Then they have the
nerve to complain that there are no bands like AC/DC
anymore. It’s madness I tell you. Let me put it in
perspective for you. Back in 01-03 I made quite the name
for myself in the karaoke scene. I won several comps, got
my face in RALPH magazine, nothing too spectacular but
enough to create a bit of a reputation (good and bad). But
the thing that used to really grind my gears was the fact
that people were ALWAYS coming up to me and saying “there are no bands or good singers like you anymore, why
is that? I remember bands like Chisel & AC/DC and bands like that playing shows, how come we don’t see that
anymore?” The insanity of it all is quite maddening. First off, if you are one of these people who have said
something stupid like this to someone, then I implore you to go back and reread everything I have just said. Then, I
want you to listen to me very carefully.
Those type of live bands, the ones that you remember so fondly, the ones that defined a generation of music, those
bands… are all still out there, if under different names. We have some of the greatest live acts on the planet but you
wouldn’t know it, cause you are too busy putting your wage in the Pokies, or having a smoke outside, or just not
even bothering & letting the execs tell you who and what Australian music is via reality television. The iconic bands
that have been mentioned though this article all made it because people got off their lazy arses (asses for
Americans) and took a chance on their local gig guide.
Like I said before in the intro to this article, my father brought them in from miles around (literally, we lived in the
middle of nowhere, ha) and they all were willing to make the trip to have a good time listening to some good ol’
“Aussie Rock” Hey, not every band you see will be good, it’s the luck of the draw. But the only way for the next
AC/DC or INXS is to be found is if the Aussie public got back some of the spunk that made us so unique in the first
place. England, America, Japan, Europe. They all have countless festivals, an endless supply of venues and huge
live scenes and they actually have enough pride in themselves and their country to get out and go look for the next
big thing. That is why there are so many bands internationally at the moment. And it’s has nothing to do with
population either, for we were once exactly the same. Do you think Michael Hutchence would’ve made a name for
himself in this environment. Hell no.
As John Lennon once said, “I think music reflects the state that society is in….” Well if this is true, then what does
that say about Australia?