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Creative Programs

Back to Year in Review

Engagement

The Connect Sessions Sydney. Photo: Georgia Ginnivan

SongMakers

It is a new era for SongMakers. We farewelled pioneering Project Lead, Tina Broad and welcomed an unprecedented $2m investment in songwriting in schools by the Victorian government and delivered songwriting programs to young people nationwide.

School workshops

From Melbourne to Merimbula, Canberra to Coolum, and Devonport to Adelaide and beyond.

  • 550 students
  • 150 new songs
  • 40 workshops
  • 30 professional songwriter/producer mentors

School holiday workshops (Create NSW and the Office of Regional Youth partnership)

  • 180 young people, ages 14-21
  • 51 new songs
  • 16 workshops
  • 26 professional songwriter/producer mentors
  • 4 NSW regions: South Coast, Far South Coast, Central West, Mid North Coast

Professional Development Day

  • SongMakers hosted its first-ever day for mentors, bringing together 20 from across the country to Sydney.

Live Music Office

Live and Local

  • Engagement with five Councils: Ipswich, Barossa, Casey, City of Port Adelaide and Geelong.
  • New funding allocated to an additional two QLD councils, in partnership with QMusic.
  • Griffith University is undertaking research to assess the impact of the Live and Local.

Snapshot: Barossa Live and Local micro-festival

The event took place Saturday 22 April in the township of Tanunda, SA, included in the annual Barossa Vintage Festival.

29 musicians were employed, and five different venues were engaged across a curated program. The festival was seen as an invaluable tool for the council to upskill their team and foster better advocacy of live music and community connection.

The LMO continues to contribute to national regulatory and policy discussions across the country.

NSW

After the success overhauling NSW's regulatory framework in 2020 using the Fortitude Valley model to allow for the creation of special entertainment precincts, the Live Music Office supported the establishment of a new precinct in Enmore, NSW.

Extensive consultations were also carried out with the Brookvale Arts District and Kiama Town Centre. The office also engaged with the night-time economy discussions with Department of Planning and Environment and participated in meetings with the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music.

ACT

In the ACT, the Live Music Office was involved with the Music ACT State of the Territory Panel, Better Regulation Taskforce, and artsACT & Canberra Innovation Network.

NT

In the Northern Territory, the office took part in the Stage 2 Planning Reforms consultation and collaborated with Music NT for special entertainment precinct briefings.

QLD

In Queensland, there was extensive involvement with councils including Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Redlands, and Moreton Bay for the "Live and Local" program, in addition to engagement with government at BIGSOUND.

SA, VIC, WA

The Live Music Office's engagements also stretched to South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia, working with various councils and entities on Live and Local policies, sound and noise framework guidance, and support for entertainment precincts. They also actively participated in national consultations, including APRA AMCOS’ Club Music Advisory Group and the National Cultural Policy and Music Australia Consultation.

Live and Local Barossa
Photo: Dan Faulkner

Live and Local Barossa.
Photo: Dan Faulkner

Education & Outreach

Insights

The online Insights series kicked off in July 2022 and covered in-demand topics: copyright, publishing, streaming/online, licensing, aggregators and more for more than 2,000 members who registered and could watch back on demand.

101

Informational sessions take place quarterly to welcome new members and give all members an overview of our membership services and benefits.

The Connect Sessions

Six sessions taking place in capital cities brought together 400 members and local industry pros to network.

NATSIMO guides

NATSIMO created tailored guides to support the education of members as well as develop internal processes to appropriately register, license and distribute royalties on works that contain Indigenous knowledge and Cultural Intellectual Property.

International reps and activities

We’re here to support our members at home and away with reps in Los Angeles, Nashville and London. When you’re overseas, be sure to connect with new reps Sam Cook in LA and Jessica Cantlon in London for UK/Europe, and many of you already know Nashville rep Mark Moffatt.

Los Angeles

  • At the Lemontree Studios mixer, LA members got acquainted with the studio space and its Dolby ATMOS system; Lemontree also supported members showcasing at SXSW.
  • At the very competitive SXSW Songs sessions in Austin, Texas, APRA AMCOS members Andrew Farriss, Beks, Aiden Hogg, Thomston and Foley were selected from a global pool of talent.

UK and Europe

  • New UK and Europe rep Jess Cantlon took advantage of the Northern Hemisphere summer to host member ‘Love-in’ mixer events in London and Berlin.
  • Between Jess and Adam Townsend, who returned to Australia in early 2023 to lead Writer Services, 22 writing sessions were coordinated at the APRA AMCOS writing room at RAK Studios, London.

Nashville

  • We co-hosted the Taste of Australia industry event with Sounds Australia during CMA Fest in June, which featured performances by visiting and resident mainstream country artists and songwriters. The event took place at InDo, the creative space that APRA AMCOS members can access when in town.
  • In collaboration with Speedpitch, four members (Lauren Vale, Carl Wockner, Zoee and Michael Saleta) were selected from EOIs for meetings with high-level industry professionals, including publishers, A&Rs, synch reps and more to pitch their songs. “This is one of the best ways to get a meeting and open doors with Nashville industry people,” said Speedpitch participant Saleta.

APRA AMCOS Ambassador meet up with Maya Jupiter, CXLOE, LA Rep Sam Cook, Louis Schoorl, VASSY Photo: supplied

London Summer Love in

Melanie Dyer onstage at InDo Nashville.
Photo: supplied

Inclusion

Reo Maori Song Hubs. Photo: Rawhitiroa Photography

Sponsorship initiatives played a large role for the Inclusion pillar, assisting:

  • 21 core organisations
  • 11 co-presenting opportunities
  • 4 industry conferences

ORO: a year of growth and connection

In the past three years, we’ve seen and heard the repertoire of waiata (Māori songs) grow exponentially. This has been made possible through cross-industry funding and support for the creation, production and promotion of Māori music.

APRA AMCOS Aotearoa has received significant funding from Creative NZ, Te Māngai Pāho, NZ Music Commission, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), and NZ On Air; as well as resources including support from Universal Music New Zealand, Sony Music New Zealand, mātanga reo (Māori language consultants), songwriters and composers − combining cultural integrity with commercial enterprise.

Our goal is, and has always been, to use the accessibility and power of popular music, to contextualise the language and increase the reach of our unique cultural identity to all New Zealanders, while amplifying the distinctive ‘voice' of Aotearoa to the world.

Key projects for the period July 2022 – June 2023 included:

  • Songwriting workshops – including SongHubs
  • Pokapū - the translation and production of existing songs into Māori
  • Waiata Anthems – support and marketing of waiata (songs)
  • Performance showcases – live and streamed performances

Our small team has received external funding to facilitate songwriting workshops in the past year:

  • Reo Māori SongHubs in September 2022, at Roundhead Studios, Auckland, curated by Bic Runga (music) and Sir Tīmoti Kāretu (reo); with producers Noema Te Hau, Joel Tashkoff, Dan Martin, Nic Manders; artists Reti Hedley, Holly Cameron, Mohi Allen, Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes, Kawiti Waetford, Amy Borovich, Anna Coddington; and mātanga reo (language consultants) Ruth Smith, Hana Mereraiha and Hēmi Kelly.
  • Waiata Anthems songwriting bootcamp in March 2023, at BIG FAN, Auckland with producers Rory Noble, Matt Sadgrove, Devin Abrams; artists curated by local arms of Sony Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music including Stan Walker, Raquel Reid, Dallas Tamaira, Paige Tapara, Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi, Makayla Purcell-Mainini, Hannah Wilson, Muroki Githinji; and mātanga reo Tawaroa Kawana, Pānia Papa and Mātai Smith.
  • Kōkōtea weekend workshop for Māori women songwriters in April 2023, Waiheke Island with Majic Paora, Jordyn Rapana, Marire Brunning-Kouka, Māreikura Nathan, Kaysha Walker, Rebel Reid; mātanga reo Ruth Smith and Hana Mereraiha
  • Reo Māori SongHubs in June 2023, at Massey Universal Music School, Wellington curated by Hāni Totorewawith mātanga reo Te Haumihiata Mason, Hona Black, Paiheretia Aperahama and Tawaroa Kawana; producers Noema Te Hau, Chris Wethley, Tomi Te Taite and Tame Tuari; and artists Allana Goldsmith, Tatana Tuari, Amba Te Ngoungou, Wairere Ropata, Byllie-Jean Zeta, Sasha Te Whare, Wirihana Nikora and Mārire Brunning-Kouka.
  • As we headed into FY24, Kapa Haka SongHubs took place in July 2023 with a weekend songwriting workshop in Gisborne curated by Ruth Smith & Mātai Smith. It comprised a group of 20 kapa haka exponents writing eight new waiata for Te Tairāwhiti to be shared and performed.

Embraced by commercial media and social media platforms during this period, the public profile of our bilingual music industry has evolved dramatically.

Waiata Anthems marketing is led by Myra Hemara, GM of International Artists & Audience Development at Universal Music New Zealand, on a pro bono basis.

In September 2022, 20 waiata were produced through the Pokapū program, and promoted in Waiata Anthems Week.

On the back of the marketing campaign, streaming data from Spotify, Apple and YouTube Music shows there was an average 150% increase in consumption of these works during the period and that usage continued through to the end of the financial year.

NZ Music Month - May

The Waiata Anthems marketing campaign in May 2023 for NZ Music Month supported waiata releases from Te Kuru Dewes, Nikau Grace, Corrella, MOHI, Chad Chambers and William Singe.

The team partnered with Te Māngai Pāho, NZ On Air and NZ Music Commission to produce the second Waiata Reo Māori Live showcase at the Tuning Fork in May, featuring Geneva AM, Majic Paora, Alya Jade, Jordyn With A Why (duet with MOHI) and Corrella, and MC’d by Pere Wihongi.

Spotlight on NATSIMO

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office continues to go from strength to strength. The Office’s standing in the wider business has grown, as has its relevance in advocating for its 1,961 members.

The self-determined framework of the Office has seen it start from one full and part-time role to a small team of four, all of whom are dedicated to upskilling music creators and the music industry in understanding their music rights and developing better protections for Indigenous Knowledge in published music.

The NATSIMO team of Leah Flanagan (Director), Nathaniel Andrew (Manager, Education & Special Projects), Clover Hersant (Administration Assistant), Tau Talifolau-French (Administration Assistant) and Jacob Ridgeway curated a range of creative opportunities and music business development programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members.

Moana Songwriting Sessions

Moana Songwriting Sessions was APRA AMCOS NZ’s first initiative produced to help elevate and connect Pasifika songwriters. Curated by producers Brandon Haru, Saia Tu'itahi (SFT), and Frank Eliesa (Frank Keys), the sessions led to ten songs written over three days by six selected songwriters. The selected songwriters, Mark Vanilau, Spdrtwnbby, Lepani, Lehali, Big Al, Samara Alofa, hail from Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch and represent Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. The first Moana SongHubs will take place in 2024.

Women in Music Mentorships (AUS)

An incredible pool of over 500 applicants made it very difficult to narrow down the 19 songwriters and composers chosen for the initiative, which is now in its fifth year. The initiative aims to support women-identifying and non-binary music creators by providing professional guidance and funding assistance toward their work.

We recognise that representation of women and those identifying as non-binary in our songwriter and composer community remains low at 22.4% across APRA membership; with the percentage of new members joining, slightly over-indexing on that.

We want to see improved representation and are committed to supporting careers through specific creative programs and opportunities and by playing a large role in advocating for the safety and support of women and non-binary individuals in the music community.

SongHubs

The selective, intensive songwriting collaboration program brings together APRA AMCOS members and renowned international songwriters and producers to create new hits.

SongHubs by the numbers:

8 SongHubs presented in Australia, mainly due to a backlog of pandemic-era commitments

600+ applicants for the Australia camps

3 SongHubs presented in Aotearoa

52.7% of participants identified as women

$4,834,528.70 in songwriter royalties from inception to end of FY23

SongHubs releases FY23

Songs that begin at SongHubs might be released within months of the sessions or further down the track, when the time is right. Here are some of the songs commercially released during 2022-23.

Recognition

King Stingray and Colin Hay performing at the APRA Music Awards. Photo: Rod Hunt

Australia

Art Music Awards

The Art Music Awards, co-presented with the Australian Music Centre, took place in Melbourne. Honourees included first-time winner Olivia Davies for Stratus (Work of the Year: Large Ensemble), Sia Ahmad’s Depth Disintegration (Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art) and a Luminary Award for Liza Lim.

Screen Music Awards

The Screen Music Awards, presented in conjunction with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), celebrated winners including Caitlin Yeo for New Gold Mountain (published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo Lillipilli IP), Salliana Seven Campbell for Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, and Richard Tognetti, William Barton and Piers Burbrook de Vere for the River soundtrack. Barton is published by Wise Music.

APRA Music Awards

The APRA Music Awards were celebrated with members and industry at Sydney’s International Convention Centre in April 2023.

Flume and co-writer Sarah Aarons took out Peer-Voted Song of the Year with ‘Say Nothing’ (feat. MAY-A), the lead single from Flume’s third studio album Palaces. Both songwriters are multiple APRA Award and Songwriter of the Year winners (Flume in 2017, Sarah in 2019). Flume is published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo Future Classic and Aarons by Sony Music Publishing.

Sampa the Great (published by Kobalt Music Publishing) was named Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year by the APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors. The Zambian-born artist has flourished into one of Australia's most formidable songwriters, blending art with poetry and cementing her status as a force to be reckoned with globally.

Colin Hay and the late Colleen Ironside were both honoured with the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music accolade. Colin’s good mate, Ringo Starr sent a special congratulations that lit up the internet!

New Zealand

APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka

Aotearoa songwriters and composers were celebrated at Spark Arena in Tāmaki Makaurau for New Zealand’s pre-eminent music prize, the 2022 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka. Over 500 guests joined the first in-person celebration since 2019, with many tuning into the live stream online. The night included performances of the Top 5 Silver Scroll finalist songs, the announcement of the Maioha and SOUNZ Contemporary Award winners and tribute performances to 2022 Music Hall of Fame inductees Ngoi Pēwahirangi and Tuini Ngāwai. It all came to life thanks to Musical Directors Rob Ruha and Cilla Ruha.

Winning the 2022 APRA Silver Scroll Award Kaitito Kaiaka were East-Coast Rangatahi group, Ka Hao and Rob Ruha for their viral hit ‘35’. The song was written by Ainsley Tai, Dan Martin, Kaea Hills, Rob Ruha, Te Amorutu Broughton and Whenua Patuwai.

The Pacific music community was celebrated at the 2022 Pacific Music Awards at the Vodafone Event Centre last August. Onehunga hip-hop crew SWIDT took out three awards including the APRA Best Pacific Music Song Award for their hit ‘Kelz Garage’, written by Daniel Latu, Amon McGoram, Isaiah Libeau, Lomez Brown and Samuel Verlinden.

The Jazz Awards took a slightly different format in 2022 with winners being announced and celebrated via National Radio on Radio NZ’s Music 101. On 13 August 2022 the LA-based composer Lauren Ellis was named winner of the APRA Best Jazz Composition for her remarkable work, ‘Papatūānuku’.

Suzy Cato once again delivered a spectacular show for the Children’s Music Awards which returned to the Tuning Fork this May. It was a packed-out family event celebrating the children’s music creators including finalists and winners of all awards and the Baysting Prize for Children’s Champion recipient, Duffy Books in Homes. The APRA Best Children’s Song | Te Korokoro Tūī was awarded to Lavina Williams and Mark Casey for ‘Aotearoa Sun’, performed by incredibly talented 12-year-old vocalist, Jaya.

The 2023 APRA Best Country Music Song was presented at the 2023 Country Music Honours in Gore this June. The award was presented to Country music superstars, Tami Neilson and Delaney Davidson for their beautiful song ‘Beyond the Stars’, published by Concord Music Publishing and recorded by Tami and Willie Nelson. The song was also a Top 5 finalist for the 2022 APRA Silver Scroll Award Kaitito Kaiaka.

Member Engagement Survey

This year we worked with survey experts Roy Morgan to complete a comprehensive online study into the satisfaction of member services delivered to writers, composers and publishers.

The purpose of the survey was to understand how we are performing against member expectations, any gaps in service delivery and the opportunities for increased member satisfaction.

The results showed there were three main attributes which accounted for 70% of member’s satisfaction:

  • High standard of service
  • Well respected in the music industry
  • Confidence in receiving maximised and accurate payments

Publisher overall satisfaction

7.2 “Good”

Priority areas for improvement:

  • Online services
  • Speed and efficiency
  • Confidence in maximised and accurate payments
  • Transparency
  • Dealing with questions, complaints and concerns

Writers and composers overall satisfaction

7.8 “Good”

Priority areas for improvement:

  • Transparency in royalty payments and practices
  • Dealing with questions, complaints and concerns
  • Confidence in maximised and accurate payments

Publishers, writers and composers communicated through the survey that APRA AMCOS is well respected in the music industry and value the organisation taking a leading role in championing members locally and globally.

Business and digital services

Your feedback helps us improve and bring new features to our digital services for members. The work continues into FY24, and here’s a look back at what we delivered in the digital and technology space this year.

  • Two-factor authentication for Portal and the app
  • Work registrations and Performance Reports submissions can be shared with collaborators
  • Venue search for Performance Reports
  • Submit evidence direct for Retrospective Performance Reports
  • Work registration notifications
  • Publishers: view agreements
  • Publishers: royalty sources in Earnings Insights

Performance reports submitted by app or portal

Portal 79.6%

App 20.4%

Interstate or home state performances

Interstate 19,219 (15.2%)

Home state 107,116 (84.8%)