NSW is an engine room of the nation’s creative economy. Despite this, successive NSW Governments have lacked a long-term vision and commitment to the state’s global potential as a creative economy - and specifically the contemporary music opportunity.
The creative economy is global and the competition for it is fierce. Now is the time for NSW to capitalise on existing skills, businesses and infrastructure with a bold, innovative and world-leading creative economy investment and policy strategy to help embed the state’s position as a global creative engine room.
Eighteen music industry bodies from the Australian contemporary music industry have united to propose an ambitious plan to the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy.
At the centre of this plan, the music industry calls for the creation of a new Federal music development agency to oversee strategic investment and policy development to realise our industry’s potential as Australia’s biggest cultural export and largest domestic creative industry.
Right now, the Australian contemporary music industry faces critical workforce, workplace, investment and market challenges. This bold plan and strategic investment is needed to support:
APRA AMCOS is one of the eighteen Australian contemporary music industry representative bodies that have united under a plan to partner with government and revolutionise the Australian music industry and establish a long term vision for the future of Australian music.
Building on the joint industry plan, APRA AMCOS submits this long term vision for the Australian contemporary music industry is required to take Australia from a music nation to a global music powerhouse that can fully realise the cultural, social and economic benefits of a vibrant, healthy and sustainable music industry accessible to all Australians.
Read the full APRA AMCOS submission to the National Cultural Policy (PDF 879kb)
APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) call for the swift introduction of a 20% Australian commissioned content expenditure requirement on global streaming businesses.
APRA AMCOS and the AGSC submit that the Scheme must include mechanisms for the mandatory inclusion of local Heads of Department and specifically local key music professionals, such as ‘Head of Music’ or ‘Director of Music’ in any investment-related definition of Australian content.
APRA AMCOS and the AGSC urge the Government to seize this opportunity to also ensure there are healthy and sustainable terms of trade between streaming services and Australian composers.
Read the full APRA AMCOS and AGSC joint submission (PDF 352 kb)
Read the full APRA AMCOS and AGSC joint submission (PDF 279 kb)
APRA AMCOS is not opposed to all the reforms contained in the Exposure Draft. However, we are strongly opposed to:
APRA AMCOS is also concerned by the current drafting of:
We are opposed to these reforms for the following reasons:
Read the full response to the Exposure Draft and Discussion Paper (PDF 624 kb)
The amendments to the Bill contain measures that will have unintended consequences on the production of homegrown documentaries and could all but elimate the production of music and other documentaries with arts, historical and political stories which rely on archival and copyright material for storytelling. This will not only dramatically cut the number of documentaries supported but will hit the hard won earnings of local screen composers and songwriters.
Read the joint submission to the Senate Committee for Treasury Laws Amendments (PDF 199kb)
The Australian live music and entertainment industry is worth $16bn to the national economy. Operating nationally and internationally it includes large and small businesses, sole traders and employs 90,000+ FTE workers. From stadiums, to pubs, clubs, bars and nightclubs, festivals and events, indoor and outdoor, our industry is core to Australia’s cultural heart and is a driver of local and national economic activity. Australia is a music powerhouse with enormous export potential.
Local, national and international performances and tours take time to organise, are logistically complicated and involve navigating a myriad of Federal, State, Territory and local government legislation and regulations - and that was before COVID.
We welcome the increase to the producers offset affecting non- feature productions from 20% to 30% and the retention of the producers offset for feature film to 40%.
However, we have a number of concerns about other changes to the legislation that will affect the documentary and low-budget feature sectors particularly, where many of the AGSC members and our fellow screen composers work; contributing to content for cinema, television broadcast, SVOD and other platforms.
Australia is more than just a film set. With the proliferation of local and international productions since the outbreak of COVID-19, our screen sector has the potential to capitalise on the benefits of not just being a safe, beautiful and diverse location but also as a highly skilled and creative workforce with the opportunity to build highly valuable intellectual property (IP) from screen production.
COVID-19 has highlighted and accelerated the importance of the digital economy in Australia and globally. For Australia to become a leading and competitive digital economy, it is critical we have high‐quality regulatory practices and standards that are fit for purpose and allow for cross-border mobility of digitalised services and associated data, with appropriate protections.
In an address to the National Press Club on 5 August 2020, APRA Chair Jenny Morris set out a vision for Australian music. To achieve that vision, the Australian music industry needs four key priorities:
The Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) together with the Australasian Performing Rights Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited (APRA AMCOS) have developed a joint submission to the Australian Government’s consultation on Supporting Australian stories on our screens— the Options Paper devised by Screen Australia and Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Australia has a long and proud history of screen composition. From the earliest days of cinema and the advent of television broadcast in the 1950s to today, Australian screen composers have provided the soundtrack to some of the most iconic and celebrated stories across screens both large and small.
The Australian music sector fell off a cliff on 13 March 2020 when the Australian Government made the sensible decision to shut the nation down. Without the ability for artists to play and venues to open around the country, the industry lost billions of dollars in revenue.
COVID-19 has impacted:
Read the full submission to the Select Committee on COVID-19 (PDF, 958kb)
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office and APRA AMCOS want to help create a more balanced music industry where First Nations people and people of colour are employed within higher levels of power and influence within the Australian music sector. We want First Nations music in Australia to be strong and independent.
We propose that greater investment in music focused programs and support can:
Over the last decade the Sounds Australia program has worked to fast track the global success of Australian music by assisting with research, policies and activities in developing and established markets. APRA AMCOS has also organised international co-writing programs for our members, called SongHubs, in Australia and in developing key export markets.
APRA AMCOS and Sounds Australia have identified key factors that could enhance Australian music export opportunities, including:
Read the submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Trade & Investment Growth (PDF, 939kb)
A powerhouse that can fully realise the cultural, economic and social benefits of an even healthier music industry accessible to all Australians.
Through consultation with our members and the wider industry we identified five key areas for industry and government to prioritise for Australia to reap the social, cultural and economic dividend from transforming from a music nation to a music powerhouse. These priority areas are centred on:
Read the full submission A Music Nation–Priorities for Australia's Music Industry (PDF, 3MB)
APRA AMCOS advocates that the rights of copyright owners should be protected against the onslaught of technological developments that make it increasingly simple for their work to be accessed, and their rights taken free of charge.
Technological innovators whose businesses rely on creative content should be required to reach agreement with the owners of that content, just as they do for other product or service costs.
Australian copyright law is as appropriate to the digital environment as it is to the physical environment. Just because technology makes infringement easier is not a compelling reason to reduce the rights of copyright owners.
Read the full submission to the Department of Communication and the Arts (PDF, 2MB)
APRA AMCOS recognises the important role that Australian creative content has in shaping Australia's identity and character, and strongly supports the promotion of Australian music across all media. The Australian music industry also makes a significant contribution to the economy.
APRA AMCOS’ strong view is that local content requirements continue to remain highly relevant to the Australian broadcast media landscape; and advocates that the Australian content requirements that currently apply to the various broadcast sectors be neither removed nor decreased.
Audio and audio-visual streaming services are not currently subject to any Australian content requirements. Given the ongoing shift in Australian consumers away from traditional media to subscription streaming services, this is concerning.