AI and Music update: November 2025
APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston pens November's AI and Music update to members.
Dear member,
Last month, Australia became the first country in the world to definitively rule out a copyright exception for AI platforms.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland confirmed the Government has no plans to weaken copyright laws, closing the door on proposals that would have allowed tech platforms to freely use your intellectual property to train AI systems without permission or payment.
This protects your rights and your ability to earn a living from your work.
This is your victory. When 4,274 of you responded to our AI and Music report survey, you gave us a clear mandate. When 97% of you demanded consent, credit, and compensation for your work, you told us exactly what was needed. Your voices, through our research, through media, through direct advocacy, made this outcome possible. When 89% of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and 84% of our Māori members said AI would increase cultural appropriation and make it harder to protect cultural rights, you made clear this wasn't just about economics—it was about protecting Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and the sovereignty of First Nations creativity.
This result also reflects the power of sustained, coordinated effort across the creative sector. For over two years, music, screen, literature, visual arts, and news media organisations presented a united front to government. Despite enormous pressure from tech companies to divide us, we held together. That collaboration delivered.
Without this decision, tech platforms could have continued training AI systems on your music without consent or payment. Our AI and Music research showed the considerable risk creators faced if unable to license their works to AI platforms on fair terms.
Australia's decision changes that. We've affirmed that Australia's licensing framework—not copyright exceptions—is the pathway for AI development. Creators' rights are protected while innovation can proceed responsibly.
What comes next
The Australian Government will now progress work on practical licensing frameworks and consent mechanisms through the Copyright and AI Reference Group, where we continue to participate. This will help ensure creators are fairly compensated when their works are used in AI systems.
This is work we know. APRA AMCOS has been managing music licensing for nearly 100 years—AI is just the latest technology requiring practical solutions. We're ready to work constructively with government and any platforms willing to engage in good faith.
Globally, through CISAC, we're coordinating with creators' organisations in other territories facing similar challenges. Australia's decision positions us as a leader in balancing creator protection with technological innovation. Other countries are watching.
Thank you
To every member who responded to our survey, who shared your concerns, who spoke up on social media and local news stories—thank you.
To our APRA AMCOS Ambassadors, to songwriters, composers, publishers, and artists who wouldn't be silenced—thank you.
To colleagues across the creative sector who coordinated with us for two years—the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), Australasian Music Publishers Association (AMPAL), ARIA PPCA, Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), Australian Music Centre, Copyright Agency, Australian Society of Authors, Australian Writers' Guild, Australian Publishers Association, National Association for the Visual Arts, Australian Screen Association, FreeTV, and many others—thank you.
And to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, and government officials who listened to evidence despite unprecedented tech lobbying—thank you.
We'll keep you informed as the next phase of work progresses. For now, we acknowledge what we've achieved together—and the power of your collective voice in making it happen.
