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Australia’s creative industries are savoring a “significant” victory, as the federal government stamps out controversial proposals that would weaken copyright law in the AI age.
A slew of tech companies had lobbied for an amendment to Australia’s Copyright Act, outlined in Harnessing Data and Digital Technology, the Productivity Commission’s interim report which recommended a new fair dealing exception to allow for text and data mining (TDM).
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Should the tech sector get its wishes, warned reps from the across the cultural communities, the exemption would enable AI specialists to rip copyright-protected works without permission or payment for training their platforms. The end result would crater the music space, creatives have said, and would legitimize the industrial-scale theft of music and other cultural and creative sector intellectual property.
That worst-case scenario isn’t going to happen.
Earlier today, Oct. 27, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland confirmed the government has no plans to water-down existing copyright protections, essentially burying talk of a TDM exception.
“There is a body of work to do around what the copyright environment looks like in the AI world, but we are making it very clear that we will not be entertaining a text and data mining exception,” Rowland told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s AM on Monday.
“And this is fundamental to their right as people who are generating works to ensure that they are fairly remunerated for that and that there are fair terms of use.”
Music industry bodies, including ARIA, PPCA and APRA AMCOS, welcomed the decision.
“This is a significant moment for Australian creators and our cultural sovereignty,” says Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS. “The Australian Government has recognized that Australia’s world-leading licensing framework is the pathway to ethical AI development, not a barrier to innovation.
“For far too long, the tech sector has made the false claim that Australia’s copyright framework is preventing AI development in Australia. This lobbying narrative has been thoroughly debunked.”
The industry, he continues, is “ready to work constructively to develop practical licensing solutions. This is everyday business for us. It’s time for tech companies to stop delaying and start licensing discussions covering both the input and output of creative materials in AI platforms.”
The government has made the right call, adds Annabelle Herd, CEO of ARIA and PPCA. “This decision reinforces Australia’s commitment to its artists and creative industries, ensuring that consent, control, and compensation remain at the heart of copyright in the age of artificial intelligence. It recognizes the inherent value of Australian creativity and culture, including First Nations Culture. It recognizes that copyright and IP laws are the foundation of the creative economy, the digital economy, and the technology industry.”
As Australian artists struggle to be seen and heard in the all-access streaming world, the government’s decision, Herd reckons, was a “commonsense” one, by backing the rights of artists, authors, creators, and rights-holders “over a small group of large, powerful tech companies.”
The Australian Society of Authors chimed in, too. “This represents a clear message from government that creators should be paid for their work,” says ASA CEO Lucy Hayward. “It’s also an important acknowledgement of the value of Australian stories and storytellers, and a vital first step in redressing the harm that has been caused by what has been called ‘“’the greatest act of copyright theft in history’.”
Screenrights, which provides licensing services for film, TV and radio, shared a joint statement with the Australia New Zealand Screen Association (ANZSA) and Screen Producers Australia (SPA). “We welcome the Attorney’s announcement ruling out a Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception,” it reads. “Australia’s Copyright Act is fit for purpose. This is a sensible and pragmatic decision that allows for innovation and creativity to progress hand-in-hand for the benefit of rights holders, creators, AI developers, and the Australian public and audiences.”
When the Productivity Commission’s report dropped in August, the music industry brought turned words into action. Then out came some of its big guns, including the likes of ARIA Award winners Missy Higgins and The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, Kate Ceberano, and Midnight Oil frontman and former Labor frontbencher Peter Garrett, who described the recommendation as “shameful.”
Even Spotify distanced itself from the tech giants, siding instead with the artist community, and pointing out that “musicians’ rights matter. Copyright is essential.”
In September, a delegation of industry professionals and high-profile artists, including Holly Rankin (Jack River), Adam Briggs, and Paul Dempsey, attended a Senate committee hearing, where they appealed for stronger copyright protections. Their comments, it would appear, hit their mark.
The next step, industry leaders say, is to ensure these principles are applied in practice, and that the government doesn’t dilute copyright protections.
The battle is won, but the fight goes on. The Copyright and AI Reference Group (CAIRG) reconvenes this week in the capital to examine key policy issues as AI technology develops.
“We will be in Canberra to make the case for keeping Australia’s cultural sovereignty intact,” Herd insists. “We will be there with artists and industry leaders to ensure creators’ voices shape the future of copyright and technology.”
Billboard reached out to the Tech Council for comment.
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LE SSERAFIM serve up their latest dish, “Spaghetti,” the third EP in a trilogy that includes a saucy new collaboration with BTS’ j-hope.
As expected, the tasty treat dropped at midnight, along with the rest of the eight-track HYBE collection, marking j-hope’s very first feature on a track by a K-pop girl group.
The powerhouse team-up was teased earlier in the week with a video on YouTube titled “The Kick,” in which j-hope dons a Matrix-esque outfit and shades while appearing underneath flashing strobe lights. The big reveal comes at the end, with a snippet of KIM CHAEWON, SAKURA, HUH YUNJIN, KAZUHA and HONG EUNCHAE hitting us with the “eat it up” refrain.
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Now it’s time to fill up.
Members of LE SSERAFIM recently caught up with Billboard Philippines to discuss how they made “Spaghetti.” The new cut “expresses LE SSERAFIM’s charm that you just can’t get away from, like spaghetti that’s stuck in your teeth,” says SAKURA. “The part where we sing “eat it up” over and over is the highlight, and since each of us members delivers it in our own styles, it adds even more playfulness to the song.”
LE SSERAFIM have been on fire of late. In March of this year, the ensemble’s HOT debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, for their fifth top 10 on the tally, which and second leader after 2024’s Crazy.
The fearless five has just completed the north American leg of their EASY CRAZY HOT World Tour, a run of shows that kicked off in April in South Korea which, according to a statement, weaves together the “unique concepts and narratives” of their EP trilogy, EASY, CRAZY, and HOT, “into one spectacular experience.”
It’s not the first time member of LE SSERAFIM have cooked up a storm with pop culture heavyweights. Earlier in the year, KIM CHAEWON featured on JVKE’s “butterflies,” featuring TAEHYUN of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, while the singers teamed up with JADE on “HOT” featuring JADE; PinkPantheress on “CRAZY”; and Nile Rodgers on “UNFORGIVEN.”
Who doesn’t like spaghetti? Chow down below.
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Australia’s latest chart week was pitched as a fight of two heavyweights. In one corner, Taylor Swift’s incumbent, The Life Of A Showgirl (via Republic/Universal). And in the other, Tame Impala’s long-awaited Deadbeat (Columbia/Sony).
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When the results were called, Swift’s Showgirl had packed enough glitter to retain the crown, and nab another chart double.
The Life Of A Showgirl retains top spot on the ARIA Albums Chart for a third successive week. According to ARIA, nine of her 14 leaders have logged at least three cycles at the summit, including Red (three weeks), 1989 (nine weeks), Lover (three weeks), Folklore (four weeks), Evermore (four weeks), Midnights (16 weeks), 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (14 weeks) and The Tortured Poets Department (eight weeks).
Kevin Parker slides in at No. 2 on the national chart with Deadbeat, the first new album release in five years from his psychedelic pop project, Tame Impala.
All five of Tame Impala’s studio albums have cracked the top 5 in Australia starting with Innerspeaker (from 2010) and Lonerism (2012), both of which peaked at No. 4. Tame Impala’s last two albums, Currents (2015) and The Slow Rush (2020), went all the way to No. 1.
Deadbeat is the best-selling title this week on vinyl.
Tame Impala has won 13 ARIA Awards, one BRIT Award, a Grammy, and belatedly cracked the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time earlier this month with Deadbeat single “Dracula.” On the current ARIA Singles Chart, “Dracula” sinks its teeth in for a No. 40 start. Only one Tame Impala song has charted higher in Australia, “The Less I Know The Better,” which reached No. 17 in 2015. “Dracula” is the only new release, and only homegrown title, in the top 50.
Staying with the national albums survey, published Friday, Oct. 24, Aussie heartthrob Ruel debuts at No. 6 with Kicking My Feet (Virgin Music Group/Universal), his third appearance in the top 10; and London indie band The Last Dinner Party enters the top tier for the first time with From The Pyre (Island/Universal), new at No. 7.
Western Australia’s The Southern River Band open their account at No. 16 with Easier Said Than Done (Orchard), for their appearance on the chart. The rockers are added to the lineup of the support acts for AC/DC’s stadium concerts this December in Perth, produced by TEG Van Egmond.
Several other local artists make a splash on the ARIA top 40, including Melbourne rock band Camp Cope (Live At Sydney Opera House at No. 20 via PCR), singer-songwriter Wilsn (Bloom at No. 31 via Mushroom), and country singer Andrew Swift (Lucky Stars at No. 33 via ABC/Orchard), while internationals Sabaton (Legends at No. 14 via BNM/MGM) and Ashnikko (Smoochies at No. 15 via WUK/Warner) make their mark.
It’s all about Taylor Swift on the ARIA Singles Chart, too, as “The Fate Of Ophelia” holds at No. 1 for a third week. It’s one of four Showgirl songs in the top 10, though “Opalite” (down 2-4), “Elizabeth Taylor” (down 5-7) and “Father Figure” (down 6-8) are losing their grip.
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The Boss flicks the switch on the time machine, taking us back to a moment when E.T. was flying high at the box office, Michael Jackson’s Thriller was hot, and Ronald Reagan had the top job.
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At the stroke of midnight, Bruce Springsteen shared Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition (via Sony Music), a treasure chest stuffed with previously unseen and unheard cuts. It’s the stuff of fans’ dreams.
Released both digitally and as a five-disc box set, Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition gathers solo outtakes from back in the day, and the fabled “Electric Nebraska” sessions; a newly-shot performance film of Nebraska in its entirety; a recently-released version of “Born in the U.S.A.”, recorded back in April 1982 with Springsteen backed by Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent; plus a 2025 remaster of the original album.
“We threw out the keyboards and played basically as a three-piece,” Springsteen reflects of the unearthed “Born in the U.S.A.” cut, a song penned during the Nebraska era. “It was kinda like punk rockabilly. We were trying to bring ‘Nebraska’ into the electric world.”
In a separate promo video accompanying the release, Springsteen admits he’s often asked about “Electric Nebraska,” which features Tallent, Weinberg, Danny Federici, Roy Bittan and Stevie Van Zandt. “There is no ‘Electric Nebraska’. It doesn’t exist,” he says, thinking out loud.
Wrong.
He checked, revisited the vault. “There it was,” he remarks. “And radically different than anything I’d remembered.”
The album was pushed back a week to coincide with the cinematic rollout of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. Directed by Scott Cooper and released through 20th Century Studios, the biopic chronicles the making of Springsteen’s Nebraska, and served as the opening film at AFI Fest in Hollywood on Wednesday.
Springsteen was on hand for a brief performance inside the TCL Chinese Theater after the screening, according to The Hollywood Reporter, where he thanked guests for “supporting our movie” and quipped “this is my last night in the movie business, I’m sticking to music.”
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted artist used the opportunity speak out once more against Donald Trump, offering up a “prayer” for “no kings” in his speech. “I’ve spent 50 years traveling as kind of a musical ambassador for America and I’ve seen firsthand all the love and admiration that folks around the world have had for the America of our highest ideals. Despite how terribly damaging America has been recently, that country and those ideals remain worth fighting for. I want to send this out as a prayer for America, for our unity. No kings,” he remarked, before hitting a rendition of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
Jeremy Allen White stars as Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere, which is in cinemas from today. Stream Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition below.
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Wolfgang Van Halen considers his group Mammoth to be “still very much a new band” — which makes The End seem an odd title for its third album.
“It is,” Van Halen — who plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on the Mammoth recordings — acknowledges to Billboard via Zoom. “That’s not the meaning, obviously, but it gets people thinking. When they first see it, they’re like, ‘What?!’
“The main reason is I found, lyrically, I was working through a lot in the respect of just exploring what the end could mean in many different possibilities. That was on top of the fact that this is that we dropped the WVH from our name, finally, so it feels like the end of the old and the beginning of the new. It ties together thematically but is also where the band is right now, so (The End) just felt like the perfect, encapsulating title.”
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The band was, of course, known as Mammoth WVH from the time Van Halen began working on his own music in 2015 — eight years after he first toured as bassist in Van Halen with his father, Eddie Van Halen, and uncle Alex Van Halen — until last year, when Van Halen was able to acquire the Mammoth copyright after years of trying. Now, he explains, “It’s exactly where I wanted it to be. I love bands that have a self-titled album and a song named after the band; so now on the very first album (from 2021) we have ‘Mammoth’ by Mammoth, on Mammoth, just like Iron Maiden and Bad Company, It’s a quirky little thing, but I like to be in that club.”
He adds that shedding the WVH also removes some of the baggage that is a frustrating part and parcel of his musical career.
“I’ve wanted to be (Mammoth) from the beginning,” Van Halen says. “There’s a much higher chance of organic discovery when it’s just Mammoth. People have a lot of complicated feelings about me because of my family and how I started out, and I think a lot of people decided how they feel about me and my music before they even heard it. So I think now it’s a nice opportunity to get in that window of people just hearing something and get that unbiased reaction — and then they’ll see who it is and get pissed off, but before that it might be, ‘Hey, it’s actually good, but I still don’t like him,’” he says with a laugh.
Like its two predecessors, The End was recorded by Van Halen and Michael “Elvis” Baskette at the 5150 studio built by Van Halen’s father. The 10 tracks come in at a relatively austere 39 minutes, and Van Halen says that compactness was both organic and intentional.
“I’m all about efficiency, in every aspect,” he notes. “I was definitely trying to not overthink anything. I think you’re always trying for all killer, not filler, and I like the idea you can have something that doesn’t last too long, and if you really enjoyed it you can just throw it on again and keep enjoying it.
“I feel like there’s enough flavor, but nothing overstays its welcome. The longest song is ‘One of a Kind,’ and it’s only just over five minutes. Everything else is pretty short in comparison. There’s nothing like ‘Take a Bow,’ which is almost seven minutes, and ‘Better Than You,’ which is over six minutes, on the last record. It was just about not trying to over-simplify but make sure I didn’t over-complicate.”
The End has already spawned a No. 1 Mainstream Rock Airplay chart hit in the title track, while “The Spell” has climbed into the top 20 in front of the album’s release. On the former and the track “I Really Wanna,” fans have been intrigued to hear Van Halen tapping on his guitar, something that was his father’s trademark but that he’s largely avoided before now. “I was maybe worried about too many comparisons,” he says, “but at the end of the day I’ve realized that’s going to happen either way, so I might as well just have fun and enjoy myself. I think it’s fun to tap; I think it’s just a fun, cool sounding thing for solos. So I don’t care what anybody says, ’cause this is what makes me happy, and I’m having a good time.”
Van Halen — who also heads the EVH Gear instrument company — adds that he found the tapping pattern for “The End” on a 2014 demo, which had been set aside. “I was like, ‘Y’know what; why don’t we write a song around this and see what happens?,’ and this time it worked,” he says. The songs “Something New” and “Selfish,” meanwhile, hail from ideas he hatched while making the first album; the latter, in fact, came from jamming with his father during December of 2014, which Van Halen even has on video.
“It’s just me and him jamming,” he recalls. “I had my camera sitting by my high hat (cymbal), so that’s all you hear. It’s just a complete mess, audio-wise, but it’s nice to see.”
“The End” has also drawn attention for its video, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Greg Nicotero and based on Rodriguez’s 1996 Quentin Tarantino-written horror classic From Dusk till Dawn. In addition to Mammoth’s live lineup it features cameos from Slash, Myles Kennedy, actor Danny Trejo and Van Halen’s mother Valerie Bertinelli, along with plenty of prosthetics and special effects. “It’s important not to take yourself too seriously and just have a good time,” Van Halen says. “That’s what I always love about the Foo Fighters and their videos; I’ve never been shy about how inspired I am by the Foos, and I think the way we do our videos is very much a reflection of that.”
The latest clip, for “Same Old Song,” drops on Friday and is intended as a sequel to “The End,” although admittedly a more modest proposition. “It sort of wraps up the story, so to speak,” Van Halen says. “Obviously a baby band like us only has enough in the album budget for one Robert Rodriguez-directed video, but I think this one sort of ties it up nicely and allows us to move forward into the future.”
As The End comes out, Mammoth’s immediate future is on the road. Van Halen and company — Jon Jourdan, Frank Sidoris, Ronnie Ficarro and Garrett Whitlock — spent the summer opening for Creed, which sadly meant the group had to bow out of the Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne Back to the Beginning concert during July. “I was so bummed,” says Van Halen, who was part of the performances honoring Osbourne at his Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction as a solo artist a year ago in Cleveland.
“I was happy I was able to do that,” Van Halen remembers. “I was able to sit and talk with him a little bit and bond with him a little bit before he left. So I’m happy I got to see him there. What an unbelievable loss it is.” He adds that Sharon Osbourne “was very sweet and understanding” about Mammoth having to drop out of Back to the Beginning. “There was stuff in the news where she said somebody was rude to them — it was not us. Sharon has been nothing but wonderful to us, and my heart goes out to her and the whole family.”
Mammoth begins a headlining run on Oct. 31 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., with cross-country dates through Dec. 12. Van Halen says he’s sketched out a preliminary long-term schedule that won’t have him back in the studio until the spring of 2027, although he’ll be accumulating ideas along the way.
“I still have so many ideas that need work — they’re missing a vocal hook here or a guitar part here or a drum part here — so in moments of inspiration I’ll maybe just sit there and listen to those old ideas and see what I can do,” Van Halen says. “I think the biggest thing with (The End) compared to the last two is…I was a lot more comfortable and confident in the process, and in who I am as my own artist and what I have to offer. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what people think I should be doing as long as I’m true to myself, and what I think the purest distillation of Mammoth is.
“I’m proud of the way that I’ve handled myself in this business,” he adds. “I’m not sitting there playing Van Halen songs and trying to shack up in the legacy of my father. I’m trying to set out and do it on my own. Whether I’m successful at that is a subjective opinion, but I’m at least proud that I’m not sitting here going, like, ‘Hey, the only place you can hear a Van Halen play ‘Panama’ is over here.’ I would rather fail on my own thing than succeed on my dad’s legacy.”
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The 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards is finally here. Hosted by Goyo, Elizabeth Gutiérrez and Javier Poza, the annual award show will broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET at the James L Knight Center in Miama, Florida. The show will air live on Telemundo, which you can stream online with DirecTV.
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Puerto Rican megastar and the upcoming Super Bowl LX halftime headliner Bad Bunny leads the night with a whopping 27 total nominations. Fuerza Regida comes in second with 15, Rauw Alejandro with 14, Karol G and Tito Double P, each with 10 nods and Peso Pluma with 9 mentions. See the full list of nominees here. On top of his lengthy list of nominations, Bad Bunny is also set to receive the Latin Artist of the Century award.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Billboard Latin Music Awards, including how to watching online without cable.
The 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards, at a Glance:
When: Thursday, October 23 at 8 P.M. ET
Where: James L Knight Center in Miama, Florida
Broadcast: DirecTV (Telemundo), Peacock, Fubo
Host: Goyo, Elizabeth Gutiérrez and Javier Poza
Who’s Performing at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards?
Tonight’s performance lineup includes Daddy Yankee (DY), Grupo Frontera, Kapo, Abraham Mateo, Ángel Lopez, Arthur Hanlon, Danny Ocean, Ozuna, Olga Tañón, Laura Pausini — this year’s Billboard Icon Award recipient — La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho, Beéle, Juan Duqu, Musza, Netón Vega, NXNNI, and Óscar Maydon.
How to Watch the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards Online
The 2025 Latin Billboard Awards will broadcast live on Telemundo. If you don’t have cable, DirecTV, Peacock and Fubo are great affordable options to stream the show live online.
DirecTV
Join DirecTV with a five-day free trial to enjoy live entertainment, like the 2025 Latin Billboard Awards, as well as your favorite sports, TV shows and movies. The streaming service’s signature packages feature more than 90 channels: Telemundo, ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, ESPN2, FS1, SEC, MLB Network, TLC, CBS, USA, Bravo, E!, BET, MTV and more.
A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with Telemundo — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $49.99 for the first month of service ($89.99 per month afterwards). The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free, if you sign up now.
Peacock
With Peacock, there is no free trial for new users but the platform offers cheap plans starting at just $10.99 per month, or you can get an annual plan for $109.99 per year (which gets you 12 months of streaming for the price of 10).
Also, Peacock and Apple TV have recently joined forces to give new and returning subscribers more originals, live sports and music programming at one low price. Prices start at $14.99 per month for the Apple TV and Peacock Premium (ad-supported) bundle, which is a nearly a 38% savings, if you were to subscribe individually. You can also upgrade to the Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus (ad-free) bundle for $19.99 per month, a savings of almost 35% the individual streaming plans.
Fubo
Fubo’s streaming plans start at $59.99/month (regularly $79.99) after a 5-day free trial. Fubo Pro, one of the cheapest among the aforementioned streaming plans, includes 202 channels, 1000 hours of Cloud DVR and streaming on up to 10 screens. For Spanish speakers, Fubo Latino is $19.99/month (regularly $32.99/month) to stream 62 channels.
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Courtney Barnett is back on our screens and behind the wheel once again with “Stay In Your Lane.”
The celebrated Australian singer and songwriter was the musical guest Wednesday (Oct. 22) on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she roused night owls with her new single.
“Stay In Your Lane” (via Mom+Pop Music) is a blast of ‘90s-leaning indie rock, and is Barnett’s first new material since the 2023 instrument LP End Of The Day and her first new lyrical piece since the 2021 album Things Take Time, Take Time, which cracked the Billboard 200 chart, debuted in the top 40 on the Official U.K. Chart, and impacted the top 10 in her homeland.
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“Gotta get this off my chest” she chants in the chorus, leading a full band. “This never would’ve happened if I stayed in my lane, stayed the same way.”
Watch Barnett’s late night performance of “Stay In Your Lane” below.
The Grammy Award-nominated Melbourne artist has been quietly revving up her full-scale return to the stage with a string of intimate shows at Levon Helm Studios and in Joshua Tree, and a date booked next month at Odeon Theatre in Hobart, Tasmania.
Barnett emerged in the 2010s as one of Australia’s finest indie exports. Her debut full-length album from 2015, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, peaked at No. 4 in Australia, and blasted into the top 20 in the United Kingdom and the United States, and won the Australian Music Prize, awarded to the best Australian album, regardless of critical success; along with a trio of ARIA Awards and a nomination for best international female at the BRIT Awards. Then, her solo follow-up from 2018, Tell Me How You Really Feel, cracked the top 10 in the United Kingdom, led several Billboard charts and peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200.
A collaborative project with Kurt Vile, 2017’s Lotta Sea Lice, was another success story, reaching No. 5 in Australia, No. 11 in the U.K., and No. 51 in the U.S.
There’s no word yet on when that next, fourth solo studio album will see the light of day.
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Melbourne, Australia — Paul Dainty is embarking on a new voyage in artist management.
The legendary Australian concert promoter joins forces with his son, Sam Dainty, on Voyager Management Group, which launches proper with its first signing, Charly Oakley.
Voyager was initially created with Brian Walsh, the late publicist and executive director of television at pay-TV platform Foxtel, and is completely separate to TEG Dainty, which Paul Dainty continues to lead.
The new venture serves to oversee several agencies, including IMC and Mark Gogoll Artists, and Monument Management, explains Sam Dainty, a film and TV professional who came on to board in 2022 to help operate the business and was mentored largely by Walsh, who passed in 2023.
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“Charly is the first artist Paul has managed and the first artist signed to us,” Sam Dainty tells Billboard. “We had hoped to do this further down the line but when we discovered Charly we were just so impressed and wanted to get moving.”
Paul Dainty knows something about talent. The U.K.-born impresario has forged an impressive career in his adopted homeland, producing tours and concerts with the world’s leading rock and pop artists, and selling more than 50 million tickets along the way.
The Melbourne-based executive established the Dainty Group/Dainty Corporation in the early 1970s, and got on a roll early on with the Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Cat Stevens and the Jackson Five. Dainty produced the Rolling Stones’ tour of 1973, a visit that would set up the success that followed.
It was Dainty who produced ABBA’s 1977 tour of Australia, a visit that remains the stuff of legend. Through the friendships made on that trip, ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus entrusted Dainty to tour Mamma Mia! 25 years later.
Dainty has also produced tours for the likes of Paul McCartney, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, David Bowie, George Michael, Prince, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears, and expanded the business into international markets.
He continues to serve as president and CEO of TEG Dainty, which, since 2016, has been a part of the TEG Group. The following year, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), and in 2023, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his “distinguished service to the community”. Upcoming TEG Dainty shows include national treks by Ricky Martin, Oprah, and Richard Marx.
A 22-year-old pop singer and songwriter, Oakley celebrates their new deal with the release of a debut single “Against The Odds” through AWAL. Oakley will support the release with a launch show next Thursday, Oct. 30 at Night Cat in Fitzroy, Melbourne.
Oakley is a special artist with the world at their feet, Sam Dainty reckons.
“We believe that Australian talent is extremely under-represented on a global stage, we have ambition for Charly in the future to be a huge name and figure in the music world,” Dainty says. “We have been able to give Charly the platform to receive feedback, help and guidance from not only us but huge names in the music industry and they have confirmed out belief in the artist and now it is time for the world to begin to hear the music.”
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Stadium shows, records set on the Billboard charts, awards. All of it, nice. But for Teddy Swims, the moment he knew he’d really “made it” was when he collaborated with The Wiggles.
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No lie. Swims is at the back-end of an action-packed tour of Australia and New Zealand, during which he performed at the NRL Grand Final, delivered a keynote at SXSW Sydney, and, yes, performed on stage with The Wiggles.
This morning, Swims stopped by Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren for a chat about the land Down Under, his tattoo obsession, and realizing his dream as an unofficial Wiggle.
The Wiggles joined Teddy Swims onstage during his concert at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Oct. 15, for a medley of “Rock-A-Bye Your Bear,” “Hot Potato” and “Fruit Salad.”
“Yeah, that was the coolest thing ever,” he remarks. “So, I reached out to them years ago when I first started coming up on Instagram, because they’re really my heroes growing up, and always wanted to collab with them. And so I reached out to them, like, ‘you’re my heroes. I love you’.”
Fortune smiled on Swims as he greeted the children’s entertainers backstage on the Today Show, ahead of the Oct. 5 rugby league finale.
“I met them in the hallway, and they were like, ‘you want to play ‘Fruit Salad’ with us?’ And I was like, ‘oh my god!’… I was absolutely starstruck.”
Swims played his cards right and asked The Wiggles to join him at a show, which they did.
“Oh dude, it was so sick,” he recounts. “We did this whole three song medley, and the whole band was involved. It was the coolest thing ever. I think it was, like, I even said it afterwards, that was my ‘made it’ moment for me.”
Swims has some serious runs on the board. He made history in July when “Lose Control” became the first song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to spend triple-digit weeks on the chart, as it reached its milestone 100th frame. The next best is Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” which logged 91 weeks on the tally in 2021-22.
The Atlanta-born singer’s blend of R&B, country and soul has seen him fly high on Australia’s charts, too. In January, Swims’ I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) opened at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, while “Lose Control” went to No. 4 on the national singles survey.
Speaking on Australian breakfast radio, Swims admitted he’s “running out of space” for new ink, but there are countless blank canvases among his pals.
“Right before my son was born,” he notes, “I was trying to take a couple months off the booze and so we’d always have kind of party after the show in the green room and stuff, there’s so many people. So I was like, instead of fighting the urge to drink, I could just pull the tattoo machine out and all the drunks would just let me tattoo them.”
Swims’ I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Tour of Australasia continues tonight, Oct. 23 with the second of three dates at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. Matt Corby is the support act and Frontier Touring is producing the trek, which ends Oct. 29 with a sold out concert at Perth’s RAC Arena.
Stream his Nova interview below.
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Swapmeet and 水中スピカ Suichu Spica are winners of the third annual Justin Cosby Music Prize, presented following their respective appearances at South by Southwest Sydney 2025.
Hailing from Adelaide, Swapmeet scoops the Justin Cosby best emerging artist honor, awarded to the local or international artist showing the most potential, a nod to their artistic merit and “export readiness.”
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“Since we announced Swapmeet on the lineup, the band attracted a significant amount of industry interest thanks to their quality songwriting and cohesive production,” explains SXSW Sydney head of music Claire Collins. “Throughout the week, they backed up the buzz with a compelling show, producing gorgeous indie anthems punctuated by a punk spirit. We can’t wait to see what they do next.”
Meanwhile, Kyoto, Japan math rock act 水中スピカ Suichu Spica collect the Justin Cosby best performance prize, recognition of an outstanding live effort at an official SXSW Sydney event.
Their “flawless live sets throughout the week were one of the true highlights of SXSW Sydney this year,” says SXSW Sydney music program manager Reg Harris. “Each show featuring a tight setlist filled with intricate guitar tapping, sparkling vocals, ever changing time signatures and cinematic crescendos.”
Also, Jamaica Moana is named as recipient of the Walk to Austin Award, presented for the first time in partnership with Johnnie Walker Black Ruby. As part of their victory spoils, the trailblazing Māori/Samoan rapper and songwriter will perform at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas.
A music industry panel selected Moana on the basis of exceptional creativity, originality and potential to connect with a global audience.
The Justin Cosby Music Prize is named in the memory of Inertia Music co-founder Justin Cosby, who died in June 2021.
The much-loved independent music executive was a regular attendee at SXSW and his meticulously-prepared spreadsheet planner was shared widely among the Australian industry professionals making the journey to Austin each year, notes SXSW Sydney organizers in a statement.
The judging panel comprises industry leaders from independent record labels, community radio, venues, festivals and local and international media.
The inaugural Justin Cosby Music Prize was awarded in 2023 to Otoboke Beaver (best performance) and Miss Kaninna (best emerging artist), and was last year presented to Voice of Baceprot and DEVAURA.
TEG produced the third-annual SXSW Sydney, which was presented Oct. 13 – 19 and featured a program heaving with 1,600 events and networking sessions, plus a music festival lineup with more than 300 performances.
