Recognising our members' success locally and globally
The 1,000,000,000 List: new additions
‘Bad’ – written by VASSY; published by BMG Rights Management
‘Needed Me’ – written by Lewis Hughes, Nicholas Audino, Khaled Rohaim, Te Whiti Warbrick; published by BMG Rights Management, Universal/MCA Publishing, Sony Music Publishing
‘The Less I Know The Better’ – written by Kevin Parker (pictured with Sony Music Publishing’s Damian Trotter - photo Matt Barber); published by Sony Music Publishing
Member Recognition
We are proud to celebrate the chart success, awards, creative collaborations and career-changing opportunities that our members have achieved through incredible resiliency.
- Aldous Harding won Album of the Year for Designer at the VUT Indie Awards in Hamburg. Aldous is published by Native Tongue Music Publishing.
- Alex Cameron co-wrote three tracks on The Killers’ Imploding the Mirage, which debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the US Billboard Rock Albums chart. Alex is signed to Sony Music Publishing.
- Alex Hosking’s collaboration with PS1 on the song 'Fake Friends' spent 20 weeks in the UK charts and is certified Gold. Alex is published by Sony Music Publishing.
- APRA Board Writer Director Amanda Brown (pictured - photo Belinda Dipalo) was welcomed to membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won AACTA Awards for Best Original Score (Film) for Babyteeth and for Best Original Score (Documentary) for Brazen Hussies, a first for a female screen composer. Amanda is published by Kobalt Music Publishing for both works.
- 2019 Professional Development Award winner Amanda Cole premiered 'Singing in Tune with Nature' via YouTube for the 2020 N.E.O. Voice Festival.
- Archie Roach AM had a banner year: induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, Best Male Artist and Best Adult Contemporary Album at the ARIA Awards 2020; J Awards 2020 - won Double J Artist of the Year; National Indigenous Music Awards 2020 Album of the Year. He was also named the 2020 Victorian Australian of the Year. He is published by Mushroom Music.
- Brad Cox (pictured) signed to Sony Music Publishing and got his own show - Apple Music with Happy Hour Down Under with Brad Cox.
- SongMakers alum Becca Hatch signed with Forever Records/Sony Music, was nominated for Most Performed R&B/Soul Work at the APRA Music Awards for ‘2560’, co-written with Jamie Muscat, Willie Tafa, Solo Tohi (Sony Music Publishing) and Maribelle Anas (Universal Music Publishing); and she was selected for both RESONATE and SongHubs The Tower.
- It was a big year for up-and-coming singer and songwriter Budjerah. He joined the Lemon Tree Music roster and inked deals with Mushroom Music and Warner Music. Budjerah was selected for Apple Music's Up Next Local program, and mentored students at the Murrumbidgee Regional High School SongMakers session.
- Cathy Milliken’s work Piece 43 for Now, inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 43 and referencing the gunshots that paralysed Jacob Blake in Wisconsin in August 2020, was premiered online by the German SWR Symphony Orchestra.
- After being chosen to be mentored by award-winning screen composer Bryony Marks for the 2020 Women in Music Mentorship for Screen, Chiara Costanza (pictured) expanded her horizons, composing the music for feature film Long Story Short and performing live music scores to silent films at Melbourne cinemas.
- Ed Service and Jack Madin aka SHOUSE saw their 2017 track ‘Love Tonight’ go global and race up the Spotify and Shazam charts, published by ONELOVE Publishing.
- Freya Berkhout, winner of the 2021 APRA Professional Development Award for Film and Television, scored the queer magic realist drama The Greenhouse (dir. Thomas Wilson-White), which premiered at Mardi Gras Festival in 2021 and screened around the globe at BFI Flare and Frameline.
- Genesis Owusu’s debut album Smiling With No Teeth garnered worldwide acclaim. Influential LA radio station KCRW called Owusu “a true one-of-a-kind artist”. Genesis is published by Kobalt Music Publishing on behalf of Ourness Songs.
- GRAMMYs:
16 members were nominated or contributed to nominated works. Involved with wins were songwriter Mike Waters (published by Mushroom Music on behalf of We Are Unified), a co-writer on 'U Move, I Move' by John Legend featuring Jhené Aiko from Legend's Best R&B Album, Bigger Love.
Dua Lipa’s Best Pop Vocal Album features ‘Break My Heart’, which credits Andrew Farriss (published by Universal Music Publishing) and Michael Hutchence (published by Warner Chappell Music) for referencing INXS’ ‘Need You Tonight.’
Chris ‘Tek’ O’Brien – engineered ‘Intentions,’ ‘Yummy’ and ‘10,000 Hours’ by Justin Bieber, with ‘10,000 Hours’ winning Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
- Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote (published by Universal Music Publishing) signed with Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label and released Mood Valiant, showcased on an NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.
- APRA AMCOS NZ Pītau-whakarewa Hinewehi Mohi was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, being made a Dame for her services to Māori, music and television while Ladi6, Teremoana Rapley, and Dr Graeme Downs were made Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit for their services to music, music and television, and music and music education respectively.
- Aotearoa made its mark on the BMI Awards this year with four top NZ songwriters (pictured) receiving a 2021 BMI Pop Award: Jawsh 685 (published by Sony Music Publishing) for Jason Derulo’s ‘Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)’, BENEE (published by Sony Music Publishing) and Josh Fountain (published by Universal Music Publishing) for alt-pop anthem ‘Supalonely’, and Joel Little (Sony Music Publishing) for Taylor Swift’s ‘The Man’.
- Composer Jodi Rose’s 2020 Art Music Funded project ‘The Global Bridge Symphony’ had a world premiere of the Signal on the Silver Bridge at Only Connect NyMusikk Festival in Norway.
- New Zealand songwriter and producer Joel Little landed on the Billboard Top 50 Producers of the 21st Century. Joel is known for his incredible work with Lorde, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, and many more artist from around the world.
- Bluey: The Album, with music by the show’s composer Joff Bush, became the first Australian children’s album to top the ARIA album chart. He is published by Universal Music Publishing on behalf of BBC Worldwide.
- John Courtidis (pictured) co-wrote ‘Head & Heart’ by Joel Corry & MNEK. Over 1m sales in the UK, triple platinum (UK), over 1 billion streams globally and nominated for Best British Single at 2021 Brit Awards and PRS For Music Most Performed Work at 2021 Ivor Novello Awards. In Australia, it was the most streamed song written by an Australian on streaming services. He is published by Sony Music Publishing.
- Producer and songwriter Kate W Martin (Gaga Music), 2019 Professional Development Award winner Ecca Vandal (Universal Music Publishing) and Alice Ivy (Native Tongue Music Publishing) collaborated on ‘In My Mind’, which landed a global synch for Apple iPhone.
- Melbourne’s Keanu Torres aka Keanu Beats is an in-demand producer and songwriter signed to Sony Music Publishing, with credits including ‘Lemon Pepper Freestyle’ by Drake ft. Rick Ross, The Kid LAROI’s ‘Addison Rae’, and ‘Commercial’ by Lil Baby ft. Lil Uzi Vert.
- Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, published by Sony Music Publishing, was nominated for a Grammy, won multiple ARIAs and was Songwriter of the Year at the 2021 APRA Music Awards. We welcomed him to our offices to receive his Billions Award for ‘The Less I Know the Better’.
- Songwriter/producer Khaled Rohaim collaborated on songs by hip hop’s biggest stars: The Kid LAROI’s ‘Not Sober’, Juice WRLD’s ‘Stay High’ and Doja Cat’s ‘Love to Dream’ in addition to collecting his Billions Award. Khaled is published by Universal/MCA Music Publishing.
- The Kid LAROI’s (pictured) trajectory continues skyward. The F**K LOVE mixtape was released in July 2020 and debuted at #8 in the US and #3 on the ARIA Charts; the second instalment saw a #3 US chart peak and a #1 ARIA Album. The trilogy was completed in July 2021 and saw The Kid LAROI hit #1 in the US. He won Breakthrough Songwriter at the 2021 APRA Music Awards and was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He signed a global deal with Sony Music Publishing in early 2021.
- Kylie Minogue (published by Mushroom Music) became the first female to score a UK #1 across FIVE consecutive decades with her most recent album, Disco.
- Nashville-based Lindsay Rimes was featured on MusicRow magazine’s Top 100 Songwriters Of 2020. He is signed to Sony Music Publishing.
- Luke O’Shea and Kevin Bennett teamed up for ‘Happy Australia Day,’ which won a Golden Guitar Award for Heritage Song of the Year. Luke collaborated with Kevin “in the hope that everyday Australians will at the very least, hear and learn the names of 9 iconic Indigenous human beings.”
- Waiata reo Māori champion, Maisey Rika was announced as one of the 2021 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate recipients. Maisey was awarded the Jillian Friedlander Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa award which acknowledges outstanding Māori and Pasifika creatives within the arts.
- It was a breakthrough year for Miiesha, (pictured - photo EMI Music Australia) who was nominated for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year at the APRA Music Awards. At the Queensland Music Awards, she picked up awards for Indigenous, Soul/Funk/R&B, and Remote categories for ‘Twisting Words’ from her debut record Nyaaringu, which was co-written with Stephen Collins and Mohamed Komba (Mushroom Music). Miiesha is signed to Sony Music Publishing.
- Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan composed the music for the five-part ABC Me series Thalu, which is set in the Pilbara region. The duo won the Screen Music Award for Best Music for Children’s Television.
- Nerida Tyson-Chew was awarded Distinguished Services Award at the Screen Music Awards, and composed the music for H is for Happiness, which debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, winning the Generation Prize. She was nominated for an AACTA Award for her score.
- Sam Weiss is currently the 2020 Composing Fellow for the Sydney Children’s Choir (Gondwana Voices), who have commissioned him to write six choral works. This year, the SCC’s cultural partner is the Sydney Jewish Museum, and so Sam’s works focus on themes of Holocaust remembrance, memory, peace and co-existence.
- Sampa the Great, published by Kobalt Music Publishing, took home three ARIA Awards, AIR’s Best Independent Hip Hop Album, and four Music Victoria Awards; she was the BET’s channels first-ever ‘Amplified’ global artist, and filmed NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert from Zambia.
- Sarah Aarons continues to collaborate with the world’s best with releases in 2020/2021 with Diplo, Ingrid Michaelson x Zayn, Miguel and Khalid. She is signed to Sony Music Publishing.
- Multi-platinum New Zealand producer SephGotTheWaves (Joseph Boyden, published by Native Tongue Music Publishing) has had a big influence on American rap and this year celebrates his contributions to two platinum certified works (Pop Smoke, Rod Wave) and five gold certified works (NBA Youngboy, Trippie Redd, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Rod Wave, Luh Kei).
- Six60 (signed to Kobalt Music Publishing) christened NZ’s largest sports stadium Eden Park with the first-ever concert at the venue. They performed to a sold-out crowd of 50,000 with millions tuning in via livestream worldwide. The impressive all-local line up included Dave Dobbyn, Jess B, Troy Kingi, Maimoa, and Drax Project.
- Sycco won Song of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards for ‘Dribble’, co-written with Edward Quinn (Mushroom Music); she is published by Sony Music Publishing. She performed with Hauskey and Stevan on a sublime version of Tame Impala’s ‘Lost in Yesterday’ at the APRA Music Awards. She’ll support Tame Impala on their 2022 AU/NZ tour.
- Tones And I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ reached two billion streams in December 2020, making her the first female and first Australian to reach the milestone. She is published by Kobalt Music Publishing.
- VASSY’s latest hit ‘Chase’ peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance charts, it’s an all-Aussie collab with producer duo Bonka (Connor O’Neill and Lachlan Naughton) and David Winnel (published by Native Tongue Music Publishing). VASSY is published by Universal Music Publishing for the work.
- Composer and didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton was the 2021 recipient of the Australia Council Don Banks Music Award and the 2020 Peggy Glanville-Hicks House resident. He is published by Wise Publishing on behalf of G Schirmer Australia.
- Charm of Finches, William Crighton (published by Universal Music Publishing) and Fanny Lumsden (published by Cooking Vinyl Publishing Australia) were three of the Australian artists selected as part of Global Music Match, an international pilot program that Sounds Australia was a partner on to support folk, roots, world and trad artists connecting and collaborating on social media, introducing their fans to music from across the globe.
- Live sets from Aussie acts Stand Atlantic (published by Songtrust), DZ Deathrays (published by Mushroom Music/BMG Rights Management), The Dead Love, Yours Truly (published by Songtrust) and Waxflower (band member Daniel Seymour is published by Mushroom Music on behalf of We Are Unified) were streamed via the Rock Scene Presents... x Sounds Australia initiative.
- Blockbuster game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 remastered release included Alex Lahey’s ‘Misery Guts’ (published by Native Tongue Music Publishing); A. Swayze & The Ghosts' 'Connect To Consume' (published by Mushroom Music); Baker Boy’s ‘In Control’, co-written by Danzal Baker (pka Baker Boy) Philip Norman (Mushroom Music) and Dallas Woods (Kobalt Music Publishing); CHAII’s ‘South’ (published by BMG Rights Management on behalf of Big Pop Music Publishing); and DZ Deathray’s (pictured - photo Marcus Coblyn)‘IN-TO-IT', co-written by Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley (Mushroom Music) and Lachlan Ewbank (BMG Rights Management) .
Awards and honours
Despite the challenges of COVID, the incredible songwriting and composing of our members was celebrated at key awards events. We were grateful to be able to gather for the in-person events and we thank everyone who enthusiastically joined us from home for the virtual events.
Australia
The 10th Art Music Awards, co-presented with the Australian Music Centre, were held virtually and featured spectacular filmed performances and a great spirit of comradery from the finalists, the winners and the entire community.
The Screen Music Awards were presented virtually, in conjunction with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), acknowledging excellence and innovation in the field of screen composition.
The Australian music industry gathered in Sydney for the 2021 APRA Music Awards - and celebratory it was to listen to the speeches, watch the performances and connect with one another.
We are proud to present the Professional Development Awards annually to honour developing songwriters and composers across a range of genres, providing a $10,000 cash award at a crucial stage in their career, as well as the Smugglers of Light Foundation Media and Music Award as part of the program.
New Zealand
The 2020 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were adapted for shifting COVID alert levels, and rather than a full live event, we filmed the amazing performances and presentations in three cities around the motu, coming up with a beautiful online show under the music directorship of Julia Deans. With great delight, our annual Children’s Music Awards, Jazz Awards, and Country Music Awards events were all able to go ahead in person in 2021, celebrating our genre songwriters in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, and Gore respectively.
We also presented six Professional Development Awards to members in Aotearoa who have plans for furthering their practice, education, and collaboration.
Youngn Lipz wins Most Performed Hip Hop Rap Work at the APRA Music Awards
- Photo Tony Mott
Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year winners for 'Gadigal Land' - L-R: Marianna Annas, Damian Trotter, Rob Hirst, Joel Davison, Bunna Lawrie, Uncle Allen Madden
- Photo Tony Mott
Josh Fountain, Stella Bennett and Djeisan Suskov win the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Award
- Photo Amanda Ratcliffe
Rob Ruha wins the 2021 APRA Maioha Award
- Photo Amanda Ratcliffe
APRA AMCOS members by residence
New South Wales
25,675
Victoria
25,027
Queensland
13,929
Western Australia
6,780
South Australia
5,160
Australian Capital Territory
1,139
Northern Territory
797
Tasmania
1,516
New Zealand
13,259
Pacific Islands
995
Living overseas
1,581
No address provided
12,848
