For generations of aspiring Australian musicians, there was a simple recipe for success: pack your bags and move to the UK or US.

This rite of passage helped forge the careers of many Australian superstars, from AC/DC and Nick Cave to Sia and Iggy Azalea.

But the dominance of Western markets is being challenged by the growing prestige and influence of the music business in Asia.

The shift can be seen on streaming service Spotify, where the most-followed artist is no longer US pop superstar Taylor Swift, but Indian singer Arijit Singh.

And it’s changing how artists and educators think about where the opportunities lie for international acclaim.

above view of dimmed recording music desk with albums of famous artist.

Many western artists have collaborated with Asian pop stars in recent years.  (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)

Music through a multicultural lens

At the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, the curriculum has been shaped with Asia in mind.

The college has spent years building ties with institutions in countries including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and India.

They bring in practitioners from across Asia to hold workshops; there’s even talk of a trip to Seoul to learn about K-pop.

man with brown hair, striped white short sleeve shirt sits cross legged with two drums next to a younger man in black tee

Percussionist and Australian Institute of Music lecturer Chris Fields plays with third-year student Vritant Soni.  (ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)

Senior academic lecturer Chris Fields said music education in Australia was catching up with long-standing industry trends.

“Since probably the ’90s, there’s been a move towards multiple ways of getting in touch with music,” he said.The Aussies making a splash in K-pop

How is it Australia has managed to produce so many homegrown K-pop stars?

“So moving away from the Western classical system necessarily, especially amongst jazz curriculums.”

At a practical level, students explore core musical concepts through multiple, multicultural lenses.

“Rhythm and melody, these things are kind of universal but the way that traditions deal with them can be vastly different,” Mr Fields said.

Could Asia become the new America?

Huge populations, rising incomes and increased digital connectivity are all helping the music business across Asia grow.

In 2024, 45 per cent of all global revenue from the physical sale of recorded music, such as CDs and vinyl, came from Asia, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry’s Global Music Report.

North America and Europe still remain the biggest regional markets once digital products, such as streaming and downloads, are included.

A K-pop group, all dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, long boots, hands on hips

Rose of Blackpink, third from the left, was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. (Supplied: Universal Music)

The US is still the biggest single market but Asian countries have cracked the top 10, with Japan ranked second in the world, China fifth and South Korea seventh.

Music labels such as Warner and Universal are investing in the region, while Western artists collaborate with Asian idols.

In the past two years, Lady Gaga performed with Korean girl group Blackpink, Ed Sheeran with Singaporean singer JJ Lin and Usher with Malaysian artist Yuna.

Several Australians or those with strong ties to Australia have also built careers in Asia, particularly in the K-pop scene.

Rose from Blackpink grew up in Melbourne; Bang Chan and Felix from Stray Kids, lived in Sydney; and Jake from Emhypen moved to Brisbane when he was nine.

Chasing the music dream in AsiaA person with pink short hair, purple jacket over tshirt, leans asymmetrically against a grey wall with red and blue swirl

Satsuki says Japan has an interesting and diverse music industry that blends genres together. (Supplied: Satsuki)

Pop singer-songwriter Satsuki moved from Sydney to Osaka, Japan, almost a decade ago.

Big cities and good transportation make touring much more economical in Japan and artists can also rely on a revenue stream that has dramatically disappeared in the West: CD sales.

“I didn’t have any CDs at the start because I didn’t have any use for them,” Satsuki said.

“The fact that we still sell them, that we still have CD stores is, I think, incredible.

“People love having physical media and physical cover art, lyric books and all that kind of stuff.”

Loading Instagram content

Satsuki said Japan also had an “incredibly interesting and very diverse” music industry.

“Take BabyMetal, for example,” Satsuki said.

“They’re fronted by these three, very cutesy girls that sing in a cutesy way, but also have this very, authentic metal band supporting them.

“That kind of combination, I don’t think you really see in the West and I think it allows people to explore different types of genres and looks and images.”

Making music but out of the spotlight

Asia also has opportunities for those who want to build a career behind the scenes in the music business. 

The film and TV industry is blossoming in many Asian countries, and someone needs to compose the soundtrack of the latest K-drama or Bollywood hit.

Mr Fields said there were also opportunities to write for video games.

“And if you think about the diversity of environments, playing scenarios and all these types of things, having a global perspective on sounds and ideas and these other things is critical,” he said.

girl with glasses and black hair bleached pink and orange hair, denim jacket with patches looks at laptop next to recording desk

First-year student Ivana Yue enjoys blending her Australian and Asian cultural influences during music production. (ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)

“I’ve done some session work for movies in India. I know people that compose here for movies being released in India, in the US, in Brazil.

“Composition and performing is global now.”

First-year student Ivana Yue is looking to build a career in sound design, especially for musical theatre.

Her cross-cultural work reflects her background; she grew up in Hong Kong but attended an Australian International School.

“My favourite thing to do is to take patterns and melodic repetitions and themes from Asian-inspired music and put it into Westernised orchestral pieces.

“I also love using different Chinese scales as well, and even Japanese scales.”

What does this mean for the future of Asian music?

Finding success as a musician is rarely easy, regardless of whether you look East or West.

Cultural barriers, language constraints and protectionist attitudes can make it tough to crack into a foreign market.

And while some countries may be reluctant to embrace outsiders, cultural exchange helped shape one of the biggest success stories in the region: K-pop.

man with black hair and glasses, in brown blazer and light blue shirt with no tie. a tree over his shoulder and building behind

Associate professor Jimmyn Parc says there was a reluctance to accept modern K-pop when it emerged in the 1990s. (Supplied: ANU)

University of Malaya associate professor Jimmyn Parc said when modern K-pop emerged in the 1990s, it incorporated many elements from Western music.

“There were a lot of things from United States, hip hop and reggae, and people actually complained a lot,” he said.

“They said, ‘This is not Korean. We should not accept these kinds of things.

“Nowadays, after almost 20 years, people love K-pop and a lot of people are really proud of K-pop.”