Warner Music Australia are currently in the midst of a purple patch in their home country, with Warner Music Group’s Down Under division recently clocking up a “historic” showing on the ARIA Singles chart.
The success in question relates to the two recent ARIA charts – dated Monday, June 9 and June 16 – which sees nine of the positions across the fortnight’s top fives held by WMA artists.
While Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” sits in the top spot on the June 9 chart, it’s joined by a double-header from sombr by way of “Undressed” and “Back to Friends,” with Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” and Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching” rounding out the top five.
The tune is largely the same in the June 16 chart, with the only difference being the insertion of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” in the No. 2 spot. The remainder of both charts’ top ends are filled out by familiar contemporaries, including Benson Bone, Bruno Mars (both with Lady Gaga and Rosé), Teddy Swims, and perennial favorites Fleetwood Mac and the Goo Goo Dolls.
All told, the first week hosts a total of 11 WMA acts in the top 20, with that number dropping by just one for the following chart, resulting in a majority representation.
Reflecting on the success of the recent achievement, Dan Rosen, President of Records And Publishing, Australasia, Warner Music Group, explains that it’s a “phenomenal effort” to achieve these “historic levels of chart share.”
“These things are built up on years of hard work from teams around the world, in terms of artist development, A&R, and connecting with culture,” he explains. “We’ve been able to cement that here in Australia.
“Our mission is to make our global artists local, and local artists global,” he adds. “It has been amazing to see, in terms of making this next generation of great Warner acts feel part of our local culture and getting them on ground and building them up.”
Rosen – who was recently named as one of Billboard’s 2025 Global Power Players – also focused on some of the specific artists that fall under his purview, specifically looking at the success of Australian and New Zealand artists on the global stage.
“We’ve always known that Aussies and Kiwis are as good as anyone else in the world, and I think the global platforms now give us the opportunity to really showcase that,” he explains. “Building that next generation of Aussie and Kiwi acts on the global stage has been a big job and a heavy lift, but we’re really starting to see results.”
Among the successes that Rosen looks at fondly are the likes of Auckland alternative pop outfit Balu Brigada,who topped the Alternative Airplay chart with their debut single “So Cold,” with latest single “Backseat” also making impressive moves globally.
CYRIL also scores a mention from Rosen, with the Darwin DJ having seen plenty of success on the radio charts, while his recent track “There She Goes” has topped the TikTok charts.
“We’ve always had wonderful export artists and are really excited seeing this next generation come through in both the indie rock and dance genres, which we’ve traditionally been very strong in,” he adds.
Notably, the recent chart success from WMA also comes accompanied by some less-than-stellar news of the Australian industry as a whole, with the entirety of the Singles chart’s top 50 being devoid of any local acts.
The only Australian influence that can be found is within Doechii’s “Anxiety,” which prominently samples Gotye’s 2011 single “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The Albums chart is slightly more promising, with Jimmy Barnes’ Defiant album in the top spot for June 16, though the rest of the top 20 lacks any locals.
This lack of Australian artists isn’t new, however, with ARIA’s 2024 end-of-year charts comprising just 5% local content.
“It’s tough out there,” Rosen agrees, referencing a need for local acts to be visible in order to make an impact on the charts. “There’s no doubt we can’t shy away from that impact on the chart here, but I think these things are cyclical and I’m incredibly optimistic of this next generation of Aussie acts that will impact the charts, both here and overseas.
“It’s definitely a moment in time. We can’t pretend it’s not happening, but we need to set ourselves up for what success looks like in the future and to me, that’s very much around the acts that can impact globally.”
The recent chart successes from WMA can also be traced back to the importance of having artists performing in the local market – a necessity which Rosen labels as “fundamental.”
“Look at Benson Boone and Teddy Swims, we brought both artists out to market really, really early,” Rosen recalls. “Benson Boone played a small sold-out show at the Lansdowne [in Sydney]. Teddy Swims’ first great, Hot Hits was in New Zealand with ‘Lose Control,’ and New Zealand and Australia are still his top two markets anywhere in the world.
“I think the number one most important thing is to get artists to market,” he continues. “So you see how great they are, Aussie fans can fall in love with them and we can connect them with local culture. And that’s really our job here, to work with our partners.
“We’ve got incredible partnerships with Atlantic Records and Warner Records and we’ve worked with them from early days about ‘How do we help you break this artist in the market?’ We value those partnerships, we work incredibly hard with them, and we bring those artists as early as we can and start seeding them into the local culture and building their fanbase.”
In addition to his current role with WMA, Rosen took on new duties this year with publishing, with the recent good news of a strong showing in the charts undoubtedly leaving the entire team feeling content.
“I’m just the figurehead at the top and it’s a lot of hard work from the teams,” he explains. “I think we’ve got the most passionate and hardworking team across both records and publishing in the market and I feel very proud to lead them.
“We’re not going to rest on our laurels,” he adds. “Lots more to achieve, lots more to do, but I think you have to celebrate the wins. We all know how hard we work in this business, so it’s good to celebrate the wins, but we’re off to work out what comes next.”
