‘Exporting Nashville to Nashville’: Brisbane country music publication breaks the US

Mumbrella can reveal that Brisbane music publisher SGC Media’s country music publication Countrytown has broken into the top ten country music websites in the US – a remarkable achievement the publisher likens to working out “how to sell ice to a polar bear”.

Now “exporting Nashville to Nashville”, Countrytown – one of three music-related publications in SGC Media’s stable – clocked 270,345 unique visitors in the US during December, according to Similarweb.

“Countrytown really is the little engine that could in a media world that we are constantly told is ‘challenging’,” explained publisher and CEO Stephen Green.

“Country music is the fastest growing genre in the world and our Australian take on the global country marketplace is obviously resonating with readers across the globe.”

The publication launched in 2020 during COVID, and has quickly grown both an international audience and a local one – buoyed by Australian tours from massive artists like Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, and Morgan Wallen – plus Taylor Swift’s refocus on her earlier country output for her forthcoming Eras Tour.

Locally, Ray Hadley’s Country Countdown, syndicated across 2GB and 3AW, is based on the Countrytown Hot 50 chart, creating “even greater domestic opportunities” for advertisers and artists alike.

“Music media are the original influencers and we’re here to show that strong mastheads and a focus on tech and audiences can build music culture in a way that no other medium can,” Green said.

“By understanding our audiences and writing the stories people want to read rather than the content people want to pay us to write, we’ve developed a strong bond with our readers and ultimately that has strengthened our mastheads.”