This year, the APRA Music Awards turn ruby red as it celebrates 40 years of recognising the achievements of its composer members and their publishers.
The anniversary edition of the APRA Music Awards will be held on Tuesday 3 May at Melbourne Town Hall and will feature special co-hosts - Julia Zemiro and Jerome Farah with other presenters to be announced.
First staged in 1982 at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, the APRA Awards were hosted by Little River Band singer-songwriter Glenn Shorrock who presented nine awards and took home a Gold gong himself for Cool Change. Forty years later, the format has evolved, with the Gold Award becoming the Peer-Voted Song of the Year, and interpretations of the nominated works being a treasured awards night tradition.
APRA AMCOS Chief Executive, Dean Ormston: For 40 years the APRA Awards have celebrated the power of great songwriting. This year, like never before, it is great Australian songwriting that is bringing together people and communities, defining who we are culturally and demanding the attention of global audiences. It is part of a new wave of success that combines local storytelling with international collaboration, and is driving a new boom in truly great music. It is an honour to acknowledge the artistry and success of Australia’s songwriters wherever they are in the world and the incredible support of the music publishing community. It will be a great night – acknowledging the richness of the last 40 years, and the very bright future for Australian songwriting both here and around the world.
The anniversary edition of the APRA Music Awards will be held on Tuesday 3 May at Melbourne Town Hall and will feature special co-hosts - Julia Zemiro and Jerome Farah with other presenters to be announced.
Arguably best known as the host of the long-running SBS hit TV program RocKwiz, and more recently as Roz Gruber in the ABC television hit series Fisk is Julia Zemiro. The actress, television presenter, radio host, writer, comedian and political activist is a force of nature and long-term friend of the APRA Music Awards, having hosted the event in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2021. Welcome back, Julia!
Joining Julia on stage is Jerome Farah who originally got his start as a dancer, before honing his music skills as a live performer, songwriter, and producer. His work on Kian's breakout single Waiting quickly landed him on a national platform, including a win at the 2020 APRA Music Awards in the Most Performed Alternative Work and Most Performed Australian Work categories. He has co-written Baker Boy hits Marryuna, Mr La Di Da Da, and Meditjin, and collaborated with Dallas Woods and Adrian Eagle. Jerome’s current single is Concrete Jungle Fever.
Returning as Musical Director for the sixth time is Grammy Award-winning producer François Tétaz. Franc will curate the live performances for the milestone event, assembling the music collaborators who will put their spin on the five nominated Song of the Year compositions. A musician and film composer in his own right, Franc has produced works for the likes of Lior, Sally Seltmann and Architecture in Helsinki.
The nominees for the 2022 APRA Music Awards will be announced on Thursday 7 April.
APRA AMCOS thanks its sponsors for the 2022 APRA Music Awards; YouTube, Marsh, Songtradr, The Industry Observer, and Studios 301.