By Mohsin Malik
Publication Date: 2026-03-17 19:11:00
Last year, Will Page, Spotify’s former chief economist, produced a report for the Australia Institute in which he concluded that music streaming algorithms were “killing” Australian music.
The report found there was a 30% decline in Australian artists between 2021 and 2024 among the 10,000 artists streamed in Australia on platforms such as Spotify, YouTube and Amazon.
“Streaming services’ algorithms may recognize language but ignore geography, meaning local music is typically not recommended to Australian audiences,” Page said.
These claims of limited visibility resonate with Australian musicians, who fear their music may be less popular than the work of more popular global artists.
We tested these claims in a new study commissioned by the Victorian Music Development Office, focusing on Spotify.
While we haven’t found evidence that Australian music has been “killed” by AI, we have found algorithms that maintain conditions that…
