Local Australian musicians have been left furious to discover American pop star Katy Perry is being paid millions to perform at the AFL Grand Final.
As Australia’s live music scene sinks under the cost of living, the hitmaker, 39, will earn $5 million for performing five songs at the MCG on Saturday.
A Melbourne artist took to Facebook on Thursday to criticize the sporting event for spending millions on international talent while local musicians struggle to get gigs.
‘Just heard on the radio that Katy Perry will receive 5 million for 5 songs tomorrow in AFL gf (sic),’ the local singer wrote in a post he shared with his followers.
‘Surely, with the state of the music industry in this country, that money could have been better spent.
Are all Australians lining up for an outdoor stage featuring local acts, promoting the best of Melbourne’s music scene? I understand the initial factor, but $5 million for five songs?
Fans flocked to the musician’s comments to agree, with some saying booking the international pop star for the AFL Grand Final was “not great value for money”.
‘Maybe get a name that’s already in the country to do a song or two. It’s a huge amount of money,’ they added.
Local Australian musicians have been left furious to discover that American pop star Katy Perry, 39 (pictured), is being paid millions to perform at the AFL Grand Final.
“Absolutely stupid,” someone wrote while another agreed: “Something has to change.” That’s crazy!’
A fourth commented: “If it’s true it’s a bloody shame.”
One Facebook user said: “It seems like a large portion of the population would go see a can of old cat poop wrapped in urine as long as it looked familiar.”
“It’s a ridiculous number… and a wrong decision not to have an all-Australian lineup,” someone else wrote about the $5 million price tag.
While many complained about Katy receiving Australian dollars for her upcoming performance, there were some who disagreed.
“Well he’s probably paying for his own sound system and all the other stuff like insurance and super per person in the lineup,” one person commented.
As Australia’s live music scene sinks under the cost of living, the hitmaker will reportedly earn $5 million for performing five songs at the MCG on Saturday.
Another wrote: ‘No Australian act has the profile and appeal. I’ve tried to think of one and I can’t. Every legendary act is already too old.
A third noted: ‘To achieve this they would have to promote local music all year round. They don’t see money in it. In this case, American pop is king.”
Yet another user pointed out that the AFL Grand Final is broadcast in many other countries, not just Australia, so it would need to appeal to a wider audience.
“Let’s face it, most people who go to the Grand Final don’t care about Katy Perry, but overall she makes Australia look great…” they said.
“I don’t agree and would prefer Australian talent, but I understand why the AFL does this… I think it’s a sneaky way to promote our country.”
Katy will reportedly be paid a staggering $5 million to perform before the AFL Grand Final match in Melbourne on Saturday.
A Melbourne artist took to Facebook on Thursday to criticize the sporting event for spending millions on international talent while local musicians struggle to get gigs.
The American pop star is being paid a huge amount to sing five songs to an enthusiastic crowd of 100,000 at the MCG before Sydney takes on Brisbane, the Herald Sun reported.
The huge sum is said to come with some conditions: that he perform a selection of old, well-known hits, rather than songs from his new LP 143.
There are also rumors that Australian pop legend Tina Arena will perform alongside Katy at the big sporting event.
“There will be a surprise performance from a favorite Australian artist who I admire,” Katy revealed on Channel Seven’s morning show Sunrise.
‘She’ll sing a little with me, I’ll sing a little with her. They’ve sworn me to secrecy, they’ve locked me up, they’ve chained me up and all that.
Fans flocked to the musician’s comments to agree, with some saying booking the international pop star for the AFL Grand Final was “not great value for money”.
While many lamented that the Australian dollars were going to Katy for her next performance, there were some who disagreed.
Katy’s revealing use of the word “chains” led viewers to suspect that she was hinting that she would be performing alongside Tina, who had a big hit in 1994 with a song of that name.
This comes as Australia’s live music industry has struggled to stay afloat in recent years, with several massive local festivals canceled due to poor ticket sales.
Birdsville Big Red Bash will not host a festival in 2025, while Australia’s longest-running music festival Bluesfest has left after 35 years, with 2025 being its last show.
Other festivals scrapped this year include The Harvest Rock music festival, Spilled Milk, Splendor in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, ValleyWays and Tent Pole Music Festival.
