Rock is now Australia’s most popular streaming genre, but why aren’t we listening to local rock acts?

Rock is now Australia’s most popular streaming genre, but why aren’t we listening to local rock acts?

Rock music became Australia’s largest core streaming genre in 2025, ahead of pop and hip-hop, generating 26.1 billion on-demand streams despite predictions of the genre declining in popularity. An RMIT expert explains what’s behind the resurgence, and why local rock acts are still struggling to cut through.

PhD Candidate Charlotte Markowitsch: 

“Rock's contemporary popularity and resurgence in Australia remains closely tied to twentieth century music, despite the upswing in Australian listeners, its most streamed artists are mostly international. 

“Australia’s ten most streamed rock artists include Fleetwood Mac, Radiohead, Metallica, and Queen. AC/DC is the only Australian act on the list despite the genre’s enormous local audience. 

“Australia has a rich rock history and vibrant contemporary output, including artists such as Amyl and the Sniffers and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Yet local and emerging acts compete with an internationally dominant canon that has defined rock greatness for decades. 

“Streaming can intensify that competition by placing rock history beside new and local releases, allowing younger listeners to discover older music without necessarily hearing it as music from a distant past. 

“My research finds that personal favourites can be broad and contemporary, yet when people name the ‘best’ rock music, they often return to a familiar canon dominated by British and American male artists. 

“This reflects a broader industry problem. The most recent APRA AMCOS Year in Review reports that Australian content’s share of local music streaming fell from 13.6 per cent in 2021 to 9.5 per cent in 2025. 

“The resurgence of rock creates an opportunity to celebrate its enduring appeal while asking how that appetite could support a more diverse range of contemporary Australian artists.”

PhD Candidate Charlotte Markowitsch is a recent recipient of an ABC TOP 5 media residency. Her research explores how Australian audiences learn to love and judge rock music, and what those beliefs reveal about taste, identity, and cultural value.

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General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

04 August 2026

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04 August 2026

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