APRA’s list of most streamed songs written by Aussies topped by Tones and I with some big surprises
The top 50 most streamed songs in Australia have been released, with some surprise additions that will baffle industry pundits. Cast a vote for your favourite.
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TONES and I has been crowned our stream queen, helping to drive a $54 million boost in international royalties for Australian and New Zealand songwriters.
The global pop star landed at No. 1 on the inaugural top 50 Australian streamed songs chart for the 2019/20 financial year, commissioned by APRA for their Year In Review report.
It wasn’t a shock to spy three songs by Tones in the top 10 – Dance Monkey, Never Seen The Rain and Johnny Run Away – having generated more than 2.5 billion streams.
Income of $54.4m in international revenue was the highest annual amount ever, a reflection of the global success of homegrown chart-topping music creators including Tones And I, Jawsh 685, Joel Little, Sia, 5 Seconds of Summer and Kevin Parker’s Tame Impala,” APRA’s report stated.
The pandemic shutdown of live performance will undoubtedly have a negative impact on royalties in the next 12 months.
But it was hugely surprising to see the strong contingent of “heritage” Australian artists in the top 50 when industry pundits have insisted old rockers don’t stream.
During the early months of pandemic lockdown, thousands sought comfort in nostalgia, with the Aussie Rock Classics playlist on Spotify influencing the boost of Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh and Flame Trees, Men At Work’s Down Under and AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long into the top 50.
While homegrown artists still face an uphill battle to gain significant airplay on pop radio stations and land priority positions on the most popular Spotify and Apple playlists, once fans find them, they are big on repeat listens.
Flume, 5 Seconds of Summer, Dean Lewis and Hilltop Hoods all had multiple entries in the most streamed songs.
The chart also reflects the behind-the-scenes success of Antipodean producers and songwriters who have become the go-to hitmakers for A-list American and British superstars.
Katy Perry’s Never Really Over landed in the top 10 of the most streamed “Australian” songs because its credits feature three of our composers – the LA-based Hayley Warner and the Dreamlab team of Daniel James and Leah Haywood.
Kiwi Grammy winner Joel Little – who also co-wrote and produced Amy Shark’s latest single Everybody Rise – collaborated on two of Taylor Swift’s big hits last year including You Better Calm Down.
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa’s smash hit Break My Heart is considered an honorary Australian song because she proactively credited Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss because it bore a resemblance to their classic Need You Tonight.
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The Year In Review report also recognises the wealth of superstar songwriting talent via APRA’s The 1,000,000,000 List, which awarded writers whose works had achieved more than one billion streams.
As well as household names such as Sia, Gotye and Vance Joy, the list also unearthed the quiet achievers such as Sarah Aarons and Alex Hope who have helped write chart-toppers for Zedd and Troye Sivan.
TOP 50 AUSTRALIAN SONGS STREAMED IN AUSTRALIA*
1 Dance Monkey, Tones and I
2 Never Seen The Rain, Tones and I
3 Rushing Back, Flume f. Vera Blue
4 Choir, Guy Sebastian
5 Youngblood, 5 Seconds of Summer
6 Be Alright, Dean Lewis
7 Johnny Run Away, Tones and I
8 Teeth, 5 Seconds of Summer
9 Never Really Over, Katy Perry
10 July, Noah Cyrus
11 Live In Life, The Rubens
12 Painkiller, Ruel
13 Riptide, Vance Joy
14 Exit Sign Hilltop Hoods f. Illy & Ecca Vandal
15 Confidence, Ocean Alley
16 The Less I Know The Better, Tame Impala
17 Then What, Illy
18 I’m So Tired, Lauv & Troye Sivan
19 Break My Heart, Dua Lipa
20 Little Things, Jessica Mauboy
21 Waves, Dean Lewis
22 Spot The Difference, OneFour
23 Mess Her Up, Amy Shark
24 The Middle, Zedd & Maren Morris & Grey
25 Good Lord, Birds Of Tokyo
26 Somebody That I Used To Know, Gotye f. Kimbra
27 Leave Me Lonely, Hilltop Hoods
28 Waiting, Kian
29 1955, Hilltop Hoods f. Montaigne and Tom Thum
30 Stay Awake, Dean Lewis.
31 Khe Sanh, Cold Chisel
32 Misunderstood, Youngn Lipz
33 Engineers, HP Boyz
34 Just Friends, Hayden James & Boy Matthews
35 To Her Door, Paul Kelly & The Messengers
36 7 Minutes, Dean Lewis
37 Chateau, Angus & Julia Stone
38 Heavy Hearted, The Jungle Giants
39 German, No Money Enterprise
40 Down Under, Men At Work
41 You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
42 Bad Child, Tones and I
43 Who Do You Love, The Chainsmokers & 5 Seconds of Summer
44 Charlie, Mallrat
45 Cosby Sweater, Hilltop Hoods
46 Titanium, David Guetta & Sia
47 Never Be Like You, Flume & Kai
48 Ladz In The Hood, OneFour
49 Flame Trees, Cold Chisel
50 Nosebleed Section, Hilltop Hoods
* Songs written or co-written by an Australian APRA member. Based on Australian streams reported by Spotify and Apple Music for the
2019-20 financial year.
Originally published as APRA’s list of most streamed songs written by Aussies topped by Tones and I with some big surprises